30 Days: A Soul Eater Romance
by Stevethesuperotaku
Summary: When Soul's Black Blood returns he and the ones he cares for become involved in a bizarre conspiracy where a respected member of the Shibusen faculty plans to unleash his disturbing fantasies.
1. Day 1

30 Days

Day One: Discovery

_For Lynne, Lance, and Spawn, the three writers I can't live without and who make me who I am._

_Author's note: First this story is an alternative to my much darker romance story "Love Game" these stories are separate and not connected. Second, the song sung by Soul at the end is "Wonderwall" by Oasis and is property of the writers and not me. Enjoy!_

For the second night The Red Man came again, dancing to the poor quality jazz music. You know why you're here, so just give in." He said holding out his hand.

Soul sat in the high backed velvet chair and smirked, "No way am I falling for this bullshit a second time. I'm too cool for that, so just go back to hell with Medusa and Kishen." Soul said as he got up and walked across the checkerboard floor.

"Stop denying it, you're one of us, or at least you will be." The Red Man said.

Soul looked at him, "Go away damn it! How do you change the record on this thing?" He said trying to pull the needle of Gramophone. Shrill screams filled his ears and then he heard her voice, the voice of his love.

"Soul, why, why are you doing this?" He turned and saw Maka, her body covered in blood, her eyes dead, soulless. Soul let out a scream and found himself in his bedroom. Posters of sports cars and beautiful women filled his vision in the dim moonlight. "Damn, second night in a row, what does it mean?" He said and cupped his face in his hands, that's when he felt the warmth, sinister and slick on his palm. Looking in the mirror near his bed he saw he had a nose bleed, and this one wasn't from seeing Blair naked. Streaks of black lined his upper lip; grabbing a handkerchief he tried to stem the flow. "Calm down Soul, stay cool, it's just the moonlight playing with you. " He said flicking on the lamp on his nightstand. It wasn't the moon, it had returned.

Maka woke around six to make breakfast; she had gained her mother's cooking skills but not her father's lechery. Her father was in Prague investigating something with his former partner Stein, he'd be back in two weeks, just enough to have Shinigami-Sama tell him he had to chaperone the Defeat Day Dance that Friday. Defeat day was the day where everyone at Shibusen Academy celebrated the defeat of Kishen and the years of peace Death City had enjoyed for the past two years. Maka was fifteen, same age as her weapon Soul and a sophomore. Soul recently had the recent honor of becoming a Death Scythe something she always wanted for him, it took a lot of work to get to this point and she knew somewhere her mother was proud of her. Her father could give two fucks less, all he cared about was pussy and by that she meant both figuratively and literally. He had been going out with the cat witch Blair for two years; marriage couldn't be too far off. The idea of her as her stepmother made Maka shiver, reaching into the refrigerator to pull out the eggs and bacon, she heard the familiar sounds of footsteps in the hall. "Morning Soul!" she shouted, as she sat the food on the counter and prepped her pans. Soul grumbled back a hello and went to the bathroom. "Breakfast should be ready in a few minutes. I hope you like Bacon and Eggs!" Soul walked out of the bathroom and rubbed his white hair. "What time is it?" He said stifling a yawn Maka looked at the digital clock radio under the cabinet her mother had got her. "

Fifteen after six, how do you want your eggs, dippy as usual?" She said Soul smirked,

"You sound like that chick from the movie with the wood chipper. Where did you get that word, dippy?" Maka looked at Soul,

"The movie is called 'Fargo,' Soul, and I heard my mother say it when I was younger." Soul flashed his pointy teeth, in a wide smile and turned on the radio to KDPK the classic rock station in Death City. Eric Clapton was beginning the opening riff on "Cocaine" Soul smirked;

"Now there's a cool guy, Slowhand himself!"

Maka laughed, "With Black Star its hip hop, with Kid its alternative, why classic rock?"

Soul smiled, "Why not? Half the shit Black Star listens to I can't stand. It's always bitch this, ho that, no real groove you know?"

Maka turned over a piece of bacon, "Well I tend to listen to all kinds of music, best to keep my mind open." The music transitioned to AC/DC's "Back in Black" Soul cringed, not a good song for a time like this. Soul sat down and Maka placed his plate in front of him. "Eat up, tiger; we got a comprehensive exam in Sid's class."

Soul stopped nibbling on his bacon, "That's today? Maka, why didn't you tell me?" Maka laughed.

"He has said after spring break we would have the comprehensive in History of Kishens for weeks now." Soul finished his bacon and moved into the eggs.

"I didn't study, shit, not cool!" he said his mouth filled with egg, yolk running down his chin. "Well if someone didn't stay up and watch the 'Top Gear' marathon last night they would have studied and been prepared." Maka said handing Soul a napkin.

"Easy for you to say miss I don't have a life!" Soul said as he got up from the table and walked over to his room.

"I have a life, Soul!" Maka said following him leaving her plate behind.

"Bull, Maka, total bull. All you have is your studies and that's it. You don't watch TV you don't hang out with me and the others and when you do, you're a total Debbie Downer! Face it Maka you don't have a social life!" Soul said rummaging through his closet looking for his favorite polo shirt.

"Oh and I guess being the first Death Scythe, post Kishen makes you the grand master of having a life. You are going to flunk out, then what? I focus on my studies so I can get something out of this school, how about you?"

Soul pulled on his socks. "Maka we've had this conversation before, I have an image to protect, and you are just a titless wonder." Maka growled.

"Oh I have no tits huh?" She said.

Soul put on his sneakers, "That's right, you're fifteen and you have the chest of a twelve year old! I've said it, I'm happy, now I'm going to the library to cram whatever bits of information on Kishens we've covered till now into my head before Sid's class!" He said and slung his backpack over one shoulder. Maka looked at him.

"Fuck you!" she shouted. Soul gave her the bird before leaving the apartment. He said he was going to the library but he was really heading to the Nurse.

"And, how long have you said you've been having the dreams?" Doctor Morrison said as she took his blood pressure.

"The past Two nights, so far, and it's same one too." Soul said Morrison removed the cuff.

"Blood pressure is normal; I just need to take a sample of your blood." Soul cringed, he hated needles.

"Seriously, for black blood and bad dreams?" he said.

Morison took out a lancet gun and pulled out Soul's middle finger, he clenched his teeth and closed his eyes as the gun clicked.

"I just need a drop, I want to run a quick test on it, should take no more than fifteen minutes." Morrison said as she placed the blood in a small vial and set it inside a centrifuge. "If you could go out to the waiting room for a while I will call you when I have the results." Morrison said as Soul walked out of the office and heard the whirring of the machine. He needed some good news, today had gone to shit.

"Maka just relax, I'm sure he didn't mean it!" Tsubaki said as they walked down the hall towards the library, Tsubaki had the most recent Richard Laymon on reserve.

"I know, I just get, how should I say it? Flighty, nervy are those even words? Something like that, whenever he is around me I feel weird." Maka said Tsubaki pushed open the doors to the library.

"I heard somebody call it getting twittepaited, can't remember where though." she said approaching the front desk, "Hi, book in for Tsubaki?" The librarian reached behind the desk.

"I swear that guy has been dead for nine years and he still writes?" The librarian said.

Maka smirked, "Most of his stuff has just crossed the pond from England." The librarian swiped Tsubaki's card.

"Whatever kid, give me good old Steve King, this Laymon guy sounds like a nut."

Tsubaki grabbed the book, "If you think he's a nut, you should try Carlton Mellick the third! Bizarro fiction is where it's at these days." She said and walked towards the door.

"You girls come back now!" The librarian waved and picked up her copy of "The Tommyknockers" and began to read. Maka felt a chill go up her spine.

"Maka, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost?" Tsubaki said. She wasn't, she felt Soul's wavelength and she didn't like it.

"Something bad is going to happen, Tsubaki, something bad." Maka said. Tsubaki smirked.

"Come on I'll get you something to drink, Coke perhaps?"

Maka looked around for Soul, "No, I think I need to follow this." She said and walked off, "Strange girl, very strange." Tsubaki said and headed toward the vending machines.

"Soul, I don't know how to tell you this? I ran a presumptive test for black blood poisoning and it came back positive," Dr Morrison said, "If you started having these problems two days ago then I guess you only have twenty eight."

Soul looked at her, "Twenty-Eight what, minutes?"

Morrison looked at him. "No, Soul, Twenty-Eight days, somehow your body fought it off for those two days so you now have thirty days to live as a human."

Soul stood up, "Human? What do you mean human, what do you mean?" Morrison placed her hands on his shoulders.

"You will become the next Kishen in thirty days, I am so sorry about this. I suggest telling only a few people you care about, and then quarantine yourself until we can contact Shinigami-sama and have you sealed." Soul looked at the clock.

"I have to go to class. I don't have time for this." Morrison looked at him.

"I am excusing you from all classes. That's not my orders but the big guy's orders. I suggest you be wary of yourself, if you feel madness at all, we need to seal you ASAP!" Soul walked out, "Report home Soul, I mean it, no classes!" Soul slammed the door and began to sob.

She had lost his wavelength somewhere around the senior class lecture hall and the time she reached Sid's class. She had her mind focused on the questions and answers but didn't see Soul anywhere. "He's skipping, that son of a bitch!" Maka said as she handed in her test and walked out towards her apartment. She heard the familiar sounds of a guitar coming from her apartment, Soul was there. "He's never played guitar before?" she said as she walked in and saw him on the couch strumming away. "Soul, you okay? You skipped Sid's class?" She said she hadn't mentioned the small tear forming in Sid's eye as she handed in her paper, or the whispers amongst faculty about a new Kishen. "Maka, I have to apologize for this morning." he said stopping the music. "Soul, I know it's been rough for us these past few days but," Soul raised a hand to stop her.

"I have black blood poisoning. They're giving me thirty days until I turn into the next Kishen." Maka clasped her hand over her mouth, and began to sob.

"Soul, I'm," Maka began as she sat on the couch, Soul made a hush sound as he began to strum. "And all the roads we have to walk are winding," He began to sing, "And all the lights that lead us there are blinding. There are many things I'd like to say to you but I don't know how." Maka began to cry listening to his haunting voice like an angel, "Because maybe, you're gonna be the one who saves me, and after all, you're my wonderwall." He sang and stopped. Setting the guitar aside and held Maka close to him letting the tears soak his shirt. "It's okay."

He said Maka looked at him her eyes rimmed with tears and said four words he wasn't expecting. "Soul, I love you."

_TBC_


	2. Day 1 Part 2

30 Days

Day 1 Part 2

_For Spawnspectre, Ambrie-Chan, Lance, and Lynne- without you four this series would not be possible. As Ray Bradbury says "Live Forever"-Steve_

"What was that Maka?" Soul said as he stroked Maka's hair

"I love you, I always have." Maka said tears flowing out of her eyes.

Soul had to think for a moment, he had always loved Maka, he knew that to be true and now she was professing her love for him at this crucial moment. It would only be thirty days together but Soul wanted them to last as long as he could. He held Maka close to him and let her sob; she'd be doing a lot worse when they sealed him up. "I know this is tough Maka, we've got to be strong on this." He said Maka looked up.

"You are my strength, Soul, you're everything to me and to lose you this way would be, I don't know?" Maka said as she clutched his shirt in her hands and let the scent of his AXE body spray fill her senses. Soul stood up, and held Maka near to him. He then let go and went to the stereo and put in one of Maka's CD's. It was a compilation CD of New Age music she had got for her birthday from her mom, Pure Moods Volume 3. Turning on Track 5 the sounds of a Piano began to fill the room. This was her favorite Track, David Lanz's "Cristofori's Dream." He bowed and looked up.

"May I have this dance?" He said and he took her hand and they began to slowly move across the living room. It was almost like their apartment had become a ballroom. Maka rested her head on Soul's shoulder. He could feel her chest rise and fall, her heartbeat, her soul perfectly in tune with his. The scent of jasmine and vanilla filled his nose; she was wearing the perfume he got her.

"Why, haven't we done this more often?" Maka she made her way towards the couch, they were now in front of it avoiding the coffee table.

"I guess I never thought I loved you as much as I do now. These last few moments are precious; I want to make them memorable." Soul said as Maka let go of him. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"I just, well, I never felt this way before. I mean I have when I've been close to you but just never this strong. Soul, I want you to," Maka said before Soul pressed a finger to her lips.

"I know what you want Maka, you don't have to speak." Soul said and walked over to Maka's bedroom.

The sun had set and the moon was shining into the room like a spotlight. Soul unbuttoned the buttons of his polo and slid it of his lithely muscled body. Maka let her hands touch the smoothness of his chest and kissed him deeply. She took off her sweater vest and unbuttoned her dress shirt; Soul placed his hands on her chest. Despite the comments he made about her, he wanted Maka more than ever. Sliding a hand up her back, he unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor. Maka kissed him again and they both collapsed on the bed with a slight bounce. Maka made her way down his chest, kissing and caressing him making him gasp. She made her way to the button of his pants, and popped them open. Soul took a deep breath, "Are you sure you want to do this Maka?"

"Why stop now? I have wanted you since the day I heard you play that dark song." Maka said and slid Soul's pants off of him followed by his boxers. The moon looked on his mouth dripping blood; he was in for a show. Maka and Soul expressed their love for each other that night, the sounds of passion and love filled the air below their apartment.

"This is a kick ass song!" Black Star said as he began to turn up the radio. Kid's car was equipped with satellite radio and it was tuned to the Rap station.

"I'm running out the morgue with your dead grandmother's corpse to throw it on your porch!" Eminem rapped Kid sighed.

"Seriously Black Star, do we have to listen to this bullshit?" Kid said pulling into the parking lot of the apartment complex where Maka and Soul lived.

"Eminem is the best white rapper out there, besides this song is funny!" Liz said as she adjusted her cowboy hat. Patty wasn't paying attention; she was texting a friend using not so great grammar.

"When we get done with this job, I am putting in Depeche Mode!" Kid said, Black Star growled.

"Kid you're such an emo, and not to mention you're obsessive compulsive. How many times have you had a breakdown because of your obsession with symmetry? Black Star said as Kid shut off the car and opened the door.

"I am doing this for everyone's own good; he is bound to be a kishen soon so we must not give him that chance." Kid said looking at Soul's medical file. He had snuck in the nurse's office that day when he heard his father talking about a new kishen, this one a Shibusen student. He had decided he would use Liz and Patty to kill Soul, Black Star was a diversion for Maka. Technically what he was doing would be considered first degree murder. His father would hire a good attorney maybe Wright or Justice, the big guys. Liz and Patty walked out of the car, Patty still texting, Kid noticed this.

"Patty, could you quit texting for five fucking minutes!" Kid hissed.

"Aw, did somebody forget their meds?" Black Star said, as he stepped out of the passenger side door, Kid flipped him off.

"Sorry Kid, I'm with a woman, as for you, you'll probably be found hanging naked in a failed scarfing attempt!" Black Star said

"You're about to lose that woman because of your damn mouth! Jesus Christ, could you not go five minutes not talking or boasting about how you surpassed god?" Black Star laughed.

"Because I have surpassed god himself, I am the great and powerful Black Star!" he said loudly. Patty looked up from her phone.

"Oooh, you're going to hell!" Patty said as she flanked Kid with her sister. They walked into the elevator taking it to the fourth floor.

"Just transform already, I don't have time for bullshit!" Kid said and in a flash he had his two guns in his hands. "Remember the plan Black Star, you get Maka to come out and then we go in and kill Soul. The fate of the world is in our hands." he said as the elevator made a small "meep" noise and opened up. Walking down the hall the four of them hoped they wouldn't get caught.

After making love for the first time, Soul and Maka lay in bed holding each other in the moonlight that streamed into the room. Maka rested her head on Soul's chest and smiled. "That probably rivals any adventure we ever had." She said making spider like motions on his chest with her two fingers. It was then she felt a wavelength, four wavelengths to be exact. She knew who they were but didn't know why they were there. Breaking the embrace for a moment she got up and put on a nightgown she had in a drawer.

"Something wrong, why are you getting dressed?" Soul asked. Maka looked at him.

"I think there are some people showing up, and I don't think it's good!" she said and then the knock on the door. "Just a minute, I'll be right there!" Maka said as she hurried out of the room.

Pulling the chain lock over the door she opened the door letting a small space open to where she could see who was at the door. It was Black Star.

"Hey, Maka, what's up?" Black Star said as he leaned against her door jamb.

"What the hell are you doing here Black Star; don't you have anything better to do than fuck around with me?" Maka said as she began to shut the door.

"I just want to go over the Kishen notes for next week's test." Black Star said.

"Get Tsubaki to help you, besides there is no test next week!" She said and attempted to shut it again. Black Star wouldn't budge. "God damn it Black Star go away!" She shouted. It was then Kid appeared with his guns.

"I suggest you hand over your kishen friend right away, I'd hate to waste these bullets on you!" Kid said. Maka slammed the door. Kid continued to bang away at the door.

"How do you know? No one else knows!" She said as she placed her back against the door, the wood occasionally making small smacks to her back.

"I have his medical file right here, now open up Maka!" Maka raced to her room and looked, Soul wasn't there, neither were his boxers. Looking around the apartment, Kid, still hammering away, she saw Soul on the phone.

"Who are you talking to?" Maka shouted, Soul held up his hand and then went on.

"Yes, all four of them are here and they are causing a disturbance. Thank you sir, you have a good night." Soul said and hung up.

"Who did you call, who were you talking to?" she said and then she felt another more powerful wavelength.

"Shinigami Noggin Chop!" It was Shinigami-sama. Peering through the peep hole in the door she saw Kid and Black Star passed out on the floor, suddenly the skull mask came into her view. Startled she stepped back. "Stay cool Soul!" Shinigami-Sama said and slung the two humans over his shoulder, passing directly through the walls.

"There will always be people out there to harm me, especially now. Maka I want to make these days last. I don't care what happens." Soul said.

Maka smiled at him, "I want to be with you no matter what. We have thirty days, let's make them last." She said as she walked back to her bedroom, Soul followed her back and watched as she took of her nightgown.

"I want to do it again. I don't know why but you make me feel like no one else has. You complete me Soul." she said. Soul smiled and kissed her again, tongues darting in and out of each other's mouth.

"I will always love you Maka, even when I'm sealed up I will have thoughts of you. Come what may, I will love you, now and always." Soul said and lay beside her, they would remain that way for hours. The next day was a weekend and there was no school.

"I love you Maka Albarn." Soul said, Maka looked in his eyes.

"You don't need to say anything, just hold me." She said and rested her head on his chest.


	3. Day 2

30 Days

Day 2

_To my dear friend Spawnspectre, who has given me much hope for my future in romance fiction._

_Author's note: This story contains a scene of graphic sexuality if you are not of the age where you can read these things without having a parent throwing a conniption fit then please don't._

"What in the world would possess you to do such a stupid thing?" Shinigami-sama said as Kid sat in a high backed chair, his father's study was always the place to berate him.

"Father you know as well as I do that he is dangerous. If we eliminate the threat, "Kid spoke but was stopped by his father raising one of his gigantic hands.

"I should have your ass suspended maybe even thrown out of this academy for what you have done. Kishen or not, Soul Evans is none of your concern, Stein even thinks there might be a cure for his problem!" Shinigami-sama said and turned his back to his son.

"So what do you expect me to do? Play mister nice guy while our entire academy is in danger. I say we should," Kid spoke; Shinigami slammed his gigantic fist on the table.

"I run this school, not you! I am in charge of things, not you! I am working with Stein to find a solution to this problem, if it goes over the thirty day limit then so be it. We'll just seal him away until we find a cure. I sure as shit, don't need you and your buddies going out into town with weapons, and preparing to lynch Soul Evans as if this was 1906 Georgia. I will not have this Kid do you hear me!" Shinigami-sama said.

"You don't," Kid said as his father got into his face. The death god's mask almost inches from him.

"I don't want any fucking sass; I want a simple yes or no son. Damn it do you understand me or do I have to noggin chop you until your brains ooze out your ears!" Shinigami said.

"Yes father, I understand." Kid said and retreated to his room.

Kid sat in his room, his iPod playing "Stripped" from Depeche Mode's "Black Celebration" Album. His father never understood him or his intentions. He had forced him to see a psychologist to take care of what his father called "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" that was as he said "Fucking up his entire chances of becoming any sort of meister." That doctor had put him on a heavy regiment of pills that he never took but sold to kids during lunch time. Kid was always good for a Ritalin or Adderal if a student needed a quick fix. He had considered making meth but that would contaminate the house and his father need not know of his drug dealing habits. He hated Maka, hated her with a passion. Soul was potential threat to the whole world but nobody seemed to give two fucks about what he thought. He was a loner, except for Liz, who would almost put out for anybody with a pulse, he had not had a serious girlfriend, and here was Soul, possibly contaminating her with god knows what and how he envied him for being her first. The song ended and Kid switched over to "Dead Souls" By Nine Inch Nails. Trent Reznor was speaking to him, "Someone take these dreams away, that point me to another day." Kid sighed, life sucked, maybe he needed to just die. He sat on his bed and thought of how he was ever going to get through life.

"Ouch, god damn it that hurt!" Black Star said as Tsubaki placed an icepack on his head.

"Well what do you expect? You go out on some guerilla mission and your ass gets handed to you on a silver platter. I hate to say this Black Star but you deserved this." Tsubaki said drawing her bathrobe close to her, Black Star kept the AC up during the summer, making the cool nights worse for her. She somehow wished she did not have such an idiot for a partner.

"How the hell was I supposed to know he'd show up?" Black Star said reclining on the couch.

"Well, if it makes any difference, I am going back to bed. You can keep you happy ass on the couch because I am locking the door. I would let you cuddle with me tonight but unfortunately you met my quota for stupid tonight!" Tsubaki said and walked towards her room, Black Star heard the familiar click and sighed. Life could be worse; he could be Kid and get his ass chewed. Closing his eyes he let the cold seep into his head and drifted off to sleep.

The sunlight streamed through the window of Maka's room. The room was cool but there was a thin sheet of sweat covering both their bodies. Maka looked beautiful, her golden hair, still in its pigtails, and her slim, frail body, made Soul want her even more. Right now, she was asleep, her green eyes shrouded. Soul kissed her cheek and stepped out of bed. Going into his room he pulled out his usual outfit, and walked into the bathroom. Turning on the shower, he let the hot water caress his slim but toned body, he worked out but not as often as Black Star, who he heard rumors was doing steroids. He then heard a familiar sound, a cat mewing. "I know you're there Blair so just go away." Soul said.

"Aw what's the matter Soul, did you think I would miss you showering?" She said as she slipped off her witches outfit and stood naked in front of Soul. "See anything you like?" She said.

"Plenty now go away!" Soul said as he lathered his hair with the Gillette shampoo and conditioner that Maka's dad got him in a gift set for Christmas. He then picked up his blue body puff, but felt a familiar pair of breasts behind him grabbing it.

"Here, let me help you." Blair whispered in his ear giving it a small nip.

"Blair, seriously, this is wrong. Maka and I are," Soul said. Blair hushed him with a finger and began to rub his chest, something inside of Soul was telling him to give in.

"Just let Blair take care of you baby." She said and proceeded to lather him, touching all the right spots.

"Blair, please, I, I." Soul stammered and turned around, Blair kissed his neck gently making him moan. He placed his hands on her ample breasts and felt the softness underneath the steam of the shower.

"Go on Soul, do it, make me feel good." Blair said, Soul reached down and felt Blair in between her legs, she was begging for it. Massaging that area Blair let out soft moans of delight as Soul moved down and kissed her stomach, licking and caressing around her bellybutton. It was then he heard the door open and the shower door slide on its tracks.

"Soul, how, how could you!" Maka shouted her eyes rimmed with tears.

"Maka listen, this isn't what it looks like, it's the," Soul said before Maka stopped him.

"SHUT UP! I thought we had something special, but now I know the truth, you men are all the same. Give them a new piece of pussy and they turn and run. Go ahead Soul, run. Just like my father did to my mother. You'll leave me alone just like she did. I don't even see my mother sometimes. Do you know how often I see her? Once maybe twice a year, Soul, do you know how much that hurts." Maka said.

"Maka, I'm" Soul stammered Maka turned and left with a parting shot.

"I hope that black blood corrupts you so bad that you just go to hell, not just sealed up in some bag but in hell. Then you'll know how I feel!" Maka said. Soul shut off the shower and raced out of the bathroom, but Maka had left, going somewhere to think. Blair placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Come on babe, let's finish what you started!" Blair said Soul shoved her hand away, and proceeded to dry off. Getting dressed, he turned to Blair.

"If something happens to her, so help me god Blair, I will not hesitate to kill you. In fact it would be a joy to do so." He said as he walked out the door, Blair went back to the bathroom and put on her outfit.

"Well off to work I go!" she said to an empty room, she had a special date today, a rich client with a lot of dough to through around. Taking the elevator she thought she would have to pick herself up something for dinner, Salmon sounded nice.

Maka stood on the roof of the apartment complex, the sun was laughing its deep throaty laugh. Her feet on the edge, she looked down and smiled. "Well it's been nice knowing you world. She said and spread her arms. As she leaned over she began to feel a twinge of fear, nerves, she wouldn't have to worry about that anymore. As she got closer she felt a familiar wavelength. As she turned to see Soul and bid him goodbye, she lost her footing.

"Maka, no don't!" Soul shouted.

_TBC_


	4. Day 2 Part 2

30 Days

Day 2 part 2

_To my fans and friends who keep me going. God bless ya! _

_Authors note: There is another explicit scene in this story so please if you are under age(or offended by this content) stop right now. I do apologize for the delay in writing this I have just started my summer job two weeks ago, but I will update as often as I can.-Steve_

"Maka, no, don't!" Soul shouted as he rushed over to the slim cement edge of the apartment complex's roof. Maka teetered over the edge, she could feel herself slip and begin to become weightless but then she stopped, something had a hold of her hand. Looking up she saw Soul clasping her hand.

"Let me go you bastard!" she shouted, Soul's grip was steadfast. Maka tried to wriggle free but felt herself being lifted up slowly back onto the roof. Maka watched as the two feet of brick and mortar passed her field of vision.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Soul shouted, Maka turned and raced back over to the ledge but her partner had grasped her shoulder pulling her back. "Answer me damn it! Maka what in the hell were you going to do? Just end it all, just throw away all we have and say 'well, I caught him with another woman so this is the end.'?"

"Leave me alone Soul, I saw what you were doing in that shower. You were all over her! If I die right now it would be a fucking relief from seeing you again!" Maka shouted and turned towards the door to the stairwell. Soul walked behind her and touched her shoulder.

"Maka, please, last night we shared something special something we both can't deny. So I slipped I'm still human! I can't be Mr. God of Death Jack Skellington over there at the academy. I love you. More than life itself, I want you by my side, these last 28 days are important and I want to make them last." Soul said, as Maka raced down the steps, Soul tried to keep up. "Maka wait!" he shouted as they reached the door to their floor.

"We, as far as I'm concerned I have nothing to say about this. Now if you'll excuse me I have an 11:30 class on the history of demons and I do not want to be late!" Maka said and slammed the door to their apartment and locked it. Soul walked outside and hopped on his motorcycle and drove off.

The Motorcycle raced down north forty-third and Park Street, the sound of the engine roared down through the sleepy city. Soul stopped in front of the book store on Depyster waiting for the light to change, looking inside he saw the shelves lined with new and old tomes and thought, quietly pondering his decision. Making a right hand turn he made his way into the small parking lot. The bookstore was a local one "Shroyer and James Booksellers" owned by two friends from Kent, Ohio. Soul walked into the book store the sounds of The Who were coming from the speakers, "Baba O'Riley" final violin solo was ending and then the sounds of Lady GaGa's "Alejandro" were coming out now.

"Ah Soul Evans such a pleasure to see you even it is a rare pleasure." Steven said as he walked over to Soul who was walking towards the Sci-Fi section. "We have all of William Gibson's 'Cyberpunk' stuff here as well as some Frank Herbert. All six 'Dune Saga' novels, they're all on sale." Soul shrugged him off.

"Do you have something romantic; you know a great love story or something?" Soul said as he walked past the horror section and the thriller section thumbing through a Steig Larsson novel before putting it back. Steven walked over to his Graphic Novel collection.

"Now it's in Manga format but it is still a great love story." Steven scanned the shelves and looked for his book; there he found what he was looking for as Soul reached him. "Here we are, 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare the perfect love story." Steven said, as he handed the book to him, Soul thumbed through it as Willie Nelson was singing "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" Steven walked off as he observed his the horror shelf. "God damn it, some asshole put the Joe Hill books out of order, Jesus!" he said, Soul remembered that Steven was anal retentive about his books.

"How much, for the book I mean?" Soul said as Steven put the books in order. Turning he looked at Soul.

"It can be yours for a buck, I know who you're buying it for so we'll give you a discount. By the way how is Maka? I have the new Steig Larsson on hold if she wants to pick it up soon. It's a fast seller too; I saved her a copy though." Steven said as Soul pulled out his wallet and handed him a dollar. "Arigato Soul-Kun!" Steven said as he opened the cash register and placed the dollar inside. "I hope she enjoys it I know I did." Steven said as Soul placed the bag in his hands and walked off, "Sayonara Soul, I hope your day goes well!"

"I hope so!" Soul said and left the clinking of the bells resonated in the cool air of the store. Steven smirked and went back to the dock to pick up his latest shipment of Charlaine Harris novels.

"So he was just in the shower, getting her off? What an asshole!" Tsubaki said as she walked out on to the veranda with Maka after class.

"I don't know how to react though? I want to forgive him and be with him but a major part of me wants to kill him." Maka said as she looked out over the balcony and cupped her chin in her hands elbows propping her up.

"Now Maka this may come as a shock to you but men will always be men. Black Star has done some stupid shit but I still forgave him because he is a man. When I caught him watching "Bible Black" instead of going to class, I wanted to kick his ass up and down the main drag." Tsubaki said.

"Was his pants down?" Maka asked

"Why does that matter Maka?" Tsubaki said.

"Well I've heard rumors that, well you know how some of the girls have heard that he's," she lowered her voice, "well endowed?" Maka said.

"I've never paid attention to that and that doesn't matter either. Now if we can get back on topic Maka-chan, I remembered that it is just his nature and that he will always love me no matter what. Oh and by the way nine and a half!" Tsubaki said

"Really, you love him that much that you'd forgive him for watching Hentai instead of going to class; you must be one tough girl." Maka said,

"He was really sweet about it too, he bought me some roses and we had a romantic candlelight dinner, he made himself. Surprising enough he knows how to cook. One time I found a Paula Dean cookbook on his bookshelf, he said it was someone else's but I know better." Tsubaki said.

"Maybe you're right Tsubaki. Still, he shouldn't have got in the shower with her." Maka said as a purple cat walked behind her and mewed. It turned human and there stood Blair.

"Actually I got in the shower with him, maybe all three of us could shower together?" Blair said, Maka looked at her and then strode over to her and slapped her across the face.

"You bitch!" Maka shouted and walked away from her as Blair raced off behind her.

"Now why would you say that? I have needs and Spirit-senpai is in Prague, so who better than," Maka stopped Blair.

"Than my boyfriend, you are one dumb bitch you know that? I bet your cunt is so loose you could drive a Mack truck through it. Just go back to your job Blair, whatever that is!" Maka said and walked to the elevator, Blair smiled.

"I am at my job, I teach intramural pole dancing aerobics here for the girls part time" Blair said, the elevator door opened and Maka walked in.

"I suggest you find another line of work, someday you'll get old and be stepping on your own titty. Good luck with that though!" Maka said and the doors closed.

"We'll see whose tits start sagging Mosquito Bite!" Blair said and walked down the hall.

Maka walked inside and heard the familiar strains of Ryan Adams coming out of the speakers. Soul had found her copy of "Love is Hell" and had set it on "Wonderwall" she preferred this version to the Oasis version. Candles were lit all around the house and the scent of Black Amethyst was coming from the bedroom. Walking in she found a book sitting on her bed, it was "Romeo and Juliet" a graphic novel version but still the same book. She had seen this at "Shroyer and James" and wanted it but unfortunately she didn't have enough room in her backpack to hold her purchases plus that.

"I hope you like it." Soul said as he stepped out from the darkness, Maka raced over to him and held him. The scent of Axe body spray and body wash left a masculine note in her mind. Tears flooded her eyes.

"Soul I, I," Maka stammered, her voice choked with sobs, Soul untied one of her pigtails and let it fall.

"Can you find it in your angel soul to forgive me?" Soul said as he kissed her neck, the scent of her perfume intoxicating him. "Can you look at this sinner and see a saint?" he said.

"Yes Soul, I can. I always will love you!" She said and closed her eyes kissing him, letting her tongue explore his mouth. He undid the other pigtail and ran his finger through her hair.

Landing on the bed the fire grew within them again, Soul slid Maka's skirt down while she slid down his pants. He stood up and removed his shirt the scar where he was attacked by Crona was visible. Maka traced it with her finger and kissed his chest. Maka lifted up her shirt, Soul undid her bra. Laying in the candlelight they kissed ferociously. Maka smiled and looked outside. The moon was in the sky blood dripping from its grinning mouth. Maka moaned as Soul moved down to that special place only lovers know. Soul looked up and smiled with a sharp toothed grin. "Take me my love; show this angel what the devil knows." Maka said. Together their passion grew throughout the night, letting the sounds of their hearts beating be the only music they needed to hear as the CD player went idle.

_TBC_


	5. Day 3

30 Days

Day 3

_For Spawnspectre and Amber, two of my favorite fan fiction authors and some of the most romantic people in the world_

_Author's note: I do not own Soul Eater or Elton John's music catalog they belong to their respective owners. Also the love making in this episode is a little more explicit than previous chapters so if you are offended by such content please do not continue otherwise, carry on.-Steve_

Tsubaki sat in her room reading the latest "Quirk Classic" parody of a classic novel when Black Star walked into the room.

"Oi, Tsubaki, I got a call from Kid, he says we need to meet him at his place in fifteen minutes. He sounded like he was excited." Black Star said and Tsubaki looked up from her book.

"Do you remember the talk we had about knocking and personal space? She said. Placing her Toad bookmark she had bought at Shroyer and James in the page she was reading, Tsubaki slid on her sandals and walked over to Black Star. "Kid can handle whatever he is going to do by himself. I am not going over there and neither are you!" She said and walked over to the telephone to call Shinigami-sama.

"What the hell do you mean you're not going? There could be a kishen on the loose somewhere!" Black Star said as he walked over to Tsubaki, who was clutching the receiver to her ear.

"Hello Shinigami-sama, Tsubaki. Do you know what your son is planning?" Tsubaki said as she pushed Black Star on the floor, knocking him to the ground.

"Uh no, why, hold on a second," Shinigami said as he watched Kid walk past the room with Liz and Patty in their gun form, "and just where in the hell do you think you're going mister?" he said.

"Out, nothing more nothing less, so buzz off skull man, and leave me alone." Kid said and walked on. Shinigami followed him and grasped him with one of his large hands.

"You're going after Soul Evans again aren't you? God damn it son I told you to knock that shit off and you didn't. Tell Liz and Patty to go home and you get your emo ass back to your room, before I noggin chop your ass back to the Stone Age!" Shinigami shouted.

"He's going to be a kishen so I have to," Shinigami-sama raised his hand and slammed it down on his son's head, hard. In a daze, Kid feebly tried to stand up and un-holster one of his guns, Shinigami slammed his hand down again, knocking kid completely out.

"Liz, Patty, I know you can hear me, transform back and get your asses home now!" Shinigami-sama said and the two weapons raced off, their boots made clacking sounds on the hardwood floor. "Thank you Tsubaki, have a good night." Shinigami-sama said and hung up the phone. Carrying Kid's body back to his room, he shut the door and left him laying on the double bed in a daze. In 27 days the Kishen would return, things would go bad. Shinigami-sama's phone rang checking the caller ID it showed it was coming from Prague. "Stein, how is the Czech Republic?" Shinigami said as he sat in his chair.

"I think I may have found a cure for the Evans situation. It still needs work but I think this may destroy the black blood entirely." Stein said, Shinigami-sama leaned back in his chair and listened.

Maka awoke to find Soul missing from the bed, his side still warm, remembering their second night of passion, Maka sighed. It was then she heard the sound of the piano from the drawing room. The drawing room was the whole reason they had decided on this apartment, it was big enough to hold Soul's grand piano and was decorated with various paintings Soul had designed for the room. Putting on her nightgown and walking over to the room she saw Soul sitting on the bench. The tune was familiar, an old song from the 1970's, from one of her mother's favorite artists.

"Blue Jean baby, LA lady, seamstress for the band," Soul began to play, Maka leaned against the piano and listened to the song, it was Elton John's "Tiny Dancer", Maka closed her eyes and began to slowly dance across the room. "Hold me closer Tiny Dancer, count the headlights on the highway, lay me down in sheets of linen, you've had a busy day today." Soul sang, he stopped and got up from the piano. Walking over to Maka he held her close to him and stroked her blond hair.

"Maka, I want you to know that whatever happens now, it is the black blood and not me taking control. The incident with Blair was a result, there maybe more. I just want to," Soul said, but Maka hushed him with a finger, and kissed him running her hands up the back of his white tank top.

"I understand Soul. Please no more words for now." Maka said resting her head against his chest her fingers making circles around Soul's lean, lithely muscled chest. Soul kissed her, his tongue darting in and around her mouth. Looking out of the corner of his eye he noticed the clock on the wall.

"Don't you have class today?" Soul said in a whisper, Maka smirked.

"It's Saturday, no classes." She said and kissed him deeply, clasping head in her hands forcing him against her Soul moved her towards the bedroom. Maka lay on the bed; her nightgown was hiked up against her thighs. Soul caressed them with his hands lifting the gown up higher revealing the fact she wasn't wearing any underwear, he smirked, and touched her, letting one finger move closer to the part of her she never showed anyone but him. Maka moaned softly, as Soul slid one of his fingers inside. Kissing her deeply, he began to tease her, Making Maka want him even more.

"Soul, please, stop, you're going to make me," Maka said Soul shushed her and climbed on top of her, she could feel the heat form around them. Soul kissed Maka and pressed himself close to her letting her feel the strength of his passion near her before moving slowly letting her gasp. The sun shone outside the window illuminating the room through the billowy curtains. Its throaty laugh was drowned out by the sounds of Maka's gasps and moans and Soul and she moved together. The two lovers let their passions overtake them and succumbed to lust once again.

As they finished Maka held Soul close to her, letting him breathe heavily against her neck. "I love you Maka Albarn." Soul said, and kissed her neck. , Maka gave his ear a playful nip, and smiled.

"I will love you no matter what happens, Soul." Maka said and got off the bed to go to the bathroom for a shower.

Walking into the bathroom she looked at herself in the mirror, splashing some water on her face, she began to undress. It was then she felt a warmth trickle from her nose. Dabbing it with a piece of toilet paper she looked at the result. A pool of black formed on the square, looking in the mirror she saw the black blood trickle from her nose, and let out a scream.

TBC


	6. Day 3 part 2

30 Days

Day 3 Part 2

_For Spawnspectre and Lancetheflamesniper, you'll always be in my prayers._

Soul raced into the bathroom, and saw Maka staring at a square of toilet paper, there was nothing on it.

"Maka, what in god's name is wrong?" He asked gripping her shoulder, she spun around.

"It's black, my blood is black. I don't know how but," Maka said trembling Soul looked at her.

"Maka there's nothing there, you're not even bleeding." he said Maka looked at the toilet paper. No black blood, how did it disappear, why did it disappear? Was it there at all? "Get a shower; I'll make you some tea." Soul said and stroked her blond hair. Maka nodded and walked over to the shower as Soul left.

"Get a grip, Albarn, you just freaked out that's all. It must be the stress, the day to day stress." She said as she adjusted the shower temperature and stepped inside. Letting the warm water caress her body she thought of Soul and wondered what he must be going through. The idea that he would be the next kishen scared her, yet to be with him in these few days had been the best of her life. She lathered her hair, it was then she felt an eerie presence.

"Hello Maka, remember me?" The voice was familiar, it sounded like an old employee of the school. Maka spun around to see Medusa standing in the shower behind her, she stifled a scream. "My my, you're very pretty, especially with no clothes." She said and pressed her mouth against Maka's trying to kiss her. Maka tried to shove her off but felt a desire growing in her, she decided not to resist as Medusa's tongue explored her mouth. Medusa cupped one of Maka's breasts in her hand, Maka wanted to scream but found herself turned on by this.

"You're crazy Maka, this isn't happening, this isn't happening!" She thought, it felt real enough though, like a dream you are so sure is real when you awake to find yourself in your bed alone. Maka let out a gasp as Medusa let her hand move down to Maka's sensitive areas, letting her explore. Then suddenly she heard a soft meeping sound come from the distance. Closing her eyes Maka focused on the sound. It grew louder, and then a voice came with it.

"Maka you forgot to shut off your alarm!" it was Soul, Maka opened her eyes and found herself standing in the shower, the once warm water was becoming tepid. She finished rinsing her hair and body and stepped out of the shower.

"What in god's name is going on here, why am I seeing these things? Why?" Maka said as she toweled herself dry and tied her hair into two pigtails. Opening her closet she pulled out a plaid skirt and white button up shirt, over top she placed a sweater vest. Looking at herself in the mirror she wondered if madness was overtaking her. They had used protection; she had made sure of that, but something was wrong, she was experiencing strange visions. Sitting on the couch she let out a sigh. Soul set the cup of tea on the coffee table.

"Maka, you okay, you're pale as a sheet?" Soul said sitting next to her. Maka picked up the cup and took a sip; it was Earl Grey with a bit of honey to give it some sweetness.  
"Soul, I think I'm losing my mind. I saw Medusa in the shower; she and I did things, bad things. Have you noticed anything weird yourself?" She said taking another sip.

"No, I haven't had any bad dreams recently. The Little Red Bastard hasn't shown up and I mostly dream pleasant things." Soul said. Maka looked up.

"Like what?" She said setting her cup down.

"Like our wedding day, our kids, our life together, that's what I dream about. I dream about you and I together in a field of wildflowers holding each other, I can still remember the scent of them." Soul said and cupped Maka's head in his hand. "I love you, you know that. Whatever you're going through I'll try to help you as much as I can." he said and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I know, I swear I'll never leave you Soul, never." Maka said and held him close to her tears flowing down her face. Soul stroked her hair, she felt safe. Grabbing her bag Maka walked out the door and thought how lucky she was to have a man like Soul.

"Love, that's how you destroy a kishen, is love? Pardon my French Shinigami-sama but this is complete and utter bullshit to me!" Morrison said as she sat in Shinigami-sama's office discussing the so called "Stein Report". Shinigami-sama clasped his two large hands together.

"Dr Morrison, you are familiar with psychology. That was your field of study, yet you are unprepared for the ways of the spirit world. I must say Doctor you are a long ways from your practice in Zanesville, Ohio. Had you not came so highly recommended I wouldn't have hired you?" Shinigami-sama said.

"I lost my practice due to an autism case." she said.

"Actually it was an Aspergers patient who committed suicide by overdosing on valium and drinking a Pina Colada. You told him he was a failure and wouldn't amount to anything. You told him he should be in a home for the mentally disabled. You broke his spirit Dr. Morrison, which is why you lost your practice. Now I may not know much about your world but let me tell you how it works in my world. Dr. Franken Stein is a well respected researcher here. He checks, and rechecks his data to the utmost scrutiny, I trust his word more than some two bit head shrinker, and if he says that Soul Eater Evans just needs love for his thirty days as a cure then I believe him. "Shinigami-sama said.

"What do you expect? I was plopped down here, given a crash course on these damn kishen things and sent on my way," Morrison said. "What about the old nurse that used to work here, why don't you hire her back?"

"She was a witch and a threat to our academy! About two years ago set in motion a plan that nearly destroyed this city. I would not put ourselves in such danger." Shinigami-sama said.

"A witch, a fucking witch, do you expect me to believe all this bullshit? I come from the real world sir, a place where there are no witches, no Kishens, whatever the hell they are, and sure as shit no big handed skull masked fuckers like you!" Morrison said. Shinigami-sama raised his hand.

"Shinigami Noggin Chop!" He shouted and slammed his hand down on her head knocking her to the floor. "I did ask you Dr. Morrison to suspend disbelief when you came here. If you can't do that then I suggest you resign. "Shinigami-sama said and turned around. Morrison stood up.

"You know, where I come from that is called assault. You just fucking assaulted me! My fucking boss assaulted me! I have never been so insulted in my life!" she said, Shinigami-sama raised his hand to brush her off.

"If you don't like the way I do business here then I expect your resignation papers on my desk by twelve today. I have a weapon that can take your place. One that understands Kishens, and how they work, you are dismissed. He said and Morrison stormed off.

"Maka, I know this sounds weird but how would you like to go on a date?" Black Star said walking behind Maka.

"Black Star, going out with you would be like going out with a man with a rump roast for a head. You're dead from the neck up." Maka said.

"I can really be intelligent sometimes, why yesterday I solved one of those Sudoku puzzles." Black Star said. Tsubaki Chimed in.

"Yeah with my help, give it a rest Black Star! She's got a boyfriend." She said walking out the door of the academy with Maka.

"Yeah a Kishen, come on Maka don't you want to go out with a real man?" Black Star said flexing one of his arms and giving his bicep a kiss.

"No thanks, I'm just fine." Maka said and put her iPod in her ear. Carly Simon's "You're so Vain" was playing, a fitting song for this time. Walking down the street she felt a strange sense of calm, yet the unease was still there. The events of the morning with the toilet paper and the shower still played in her head. "What if I'm going mad?" she thought and then shook her head. It was going to be a good day.

Keith Stone was drunk, he had too much Natural Light in the morning and the beer cans littered his car. He was currently on his second Tall Boy of Miller High Life and listening to the radio. "Black Betty" by Ram Jam was currently playing on KDPK; he barely noticed his speedometer going over the thirty-five mile per hour speed limit by two times. Maka was crossing at the crosswalk; Keith didn't see her in time. Slamming into her, Maka flew over the 1977 Dodge and landed on the pavement. Blood trickled from her head. Lance James happened to be at the store window of his shop he owned with his friend Steven adjusting the Stephen King special feature sale display and turned and raced outside.

"Lance, where in the hell are you running off to?" Steven said, looking out the window, he gasped. "Jennifer call 911, some dumb fuck just hit one of our customers!" He shouted and walked out to the scene. "Is she bad?" he asked.

"She's pretty bad. Maka, Maka, remember me? I'm Mr. James, from the bookstore, stay with me okay." he said as she faded in and out of consciousness. Jennifer, Lance's wife shouted from the door.

"Medics are on their way, I got that son of a bitch's license plate number. Drunk as hell, must have had at least hundred beer cans in his car."

"Where is he now?" Steven said, Jennifer shouted.

"He wrapped his Dodge around a lamp pole. Serves him right, that bastard, driving like that tanked to the gills, how dumb can you be." She shouted.

Maka looked up at the sky and whispered one name. "Soul"

It was past two thirty when Soul got the call, Maka was in the hospital. She had suffered a head injury and was in critical condition, some bastard had hit her with his car. Sinking to his knees he began to cry.

"Maka!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, he said, his voice choked with sobs. He closed his eyes and sat on the floor. He then heard a knock at his door, and heard a familiar voice.

"Soul? It's Mr. Shroyer from the Bookstore; I've come to take you to the hospital. Everything is going to be okay." Steven said, Soul opened the door and hugged him. "Its okay man, we'll get through this. Come on let's go." He said and they walked out the door.

The room was dim the sound of poorly made jazz music came from a record player. Maka looked around, and it was there from the plum colored velvet curtains the red man came.

"Welcome to your worst nightmare Maka. We're going to have fun destroying your mind and that soul of yours." he said.

Maka wanted to scream but couldn't, all she could do was stand up and walk with the imp. "What is happening to me?" Maka thought.

TBC


	7. Day 3 Part 3

30 Days

Day 3 Part 3

_For Spawnspectre and Amber Lehcar, two of the best Soul Eater Fan Fic authors I know._

_Author's Note: I do not own Soul Eater it is the property of its creator whose name escapes me right now. I also don't own the music of Pink Floyd; the lyrics mentioned in this song are property of their respected parties and not me. This chapter contains some more graphic sequences, if you are offended by such content stop now and pick up something much safer. Enjoy- Steve_

Patty Morrison was packing her things into the small cardboard box that was designated for her by Shinigami-sama. Looking around the nurse's station, the disgraced psychiatrist and now former school nurse sighed. "Damn skull masked wearing fuck, I knew I never should have came here!" She said placing the lid on the box.

"Oh, but I'm so glad you did." A voice said from the back of Patty's mind. A wave of fear crept up her spine, she had returned, the voice that made her do bad things to people.

"Go away!" she whispered harshly to herself. She dug through her purse to find her pills.

"You know what I want Patricia, another kishen another soul for my black blood." The voice spoke to her. Patty picked up the bottle and shook it. No pills, and no way to get a scrip without traveling to Ohio she was doomed.

"Damn you, I won't let you fuck me over again!" Patty shouted then she looked and saw the face staring back at her in the mirror. Blond haired with golden eyes and a forked tongue, she had one name, Medusa.

"Albarn is almost ours, if we break the two of them, the blood will return and the fun will begin." Medusa said. Patty shook her head and closed her eyes. Medusa laughed, her voice echoing off the insides of Patty's mind.

"You want to get back at him don't you? The man in the skull mask thinks you're stupid. We'll show him, we'll show him. Help me, and you'll get your revenge. You'll call the shots; you'll surpass Shinigami-sama himself!" Medusa said letting out a cackle. Patty looked at herself in the mirror, a smile formed at the corners of her mouth. Submitting to madness Patricia "Patty" Morrison began to laugh maniacally and smashed her head into the mirror.

"I guess you're the one who found her?" The Doctor said to Steven as he sat in a chair next to Soul and Lance.

"I witnessed it; Lance here was the one who took care of her at the scene. I swear to god this has to be a dream." Steven said, he pushed his glasses up on his nose and patted Soul on the back. Dr Kenzo Tenma was a skilled neurosurgeon from Japan by way of Germany. Tenma opened Maka's file and looked it over. Shutting it he clasped his hands together and looked at the three men.

"Gentlemen I'll be blunt, Miss Albarn suffered quite a concussion, and in fact she had some swelling on the brain that nearly pressed up against her skull. If that driver had been going any faster she would have been surely dead within moments. We drained about two pints of fluid from her skull, she was that bad. Now before you say anything she is going to pull through. Scans show no damage to the cerebral cortex, or medulla. However we did put her into drug induced coma for a while to help her brain heal." Tenma said. Soul stood up.

"How long will that be?" He said. Tenma looked at him.

"Just for twenty-four hours, after that we'd like to keep her here for observation for three days to see how she fairs. She may go home in less than that. Now I must warn you when you see her she looks a little worse for wear, however she will be fine. If these two men here didn't witness the accident she would have surely died." Tenma said.

"Can I see her?" Soul said. Tenma smiled at him and nodded.

"Room 404, I believe that's where she is. Keep it down though we have some patients who may be asleep." he said Soul got up and left, Steven and Lance shook hands with the doctor and walked behind Soul.

"Here's my cell and my home phone number," Steven said handing Soul a slip of paper, "Call me if you need anything." Soul smiled and coolly waved goodbye to the two book sellers. Steven smiled and got into his Oldsmobile, Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage" was coming from his speakers. "The lunatic is in my head," he sang, "The lunatic is in my head." and made the drive home.

Maka went beyond the curtains, her mind trying to fight the madness. The scent of incense and candle wax filled the room. In the middle of the room was a bed, a modest double bed meant for two normal people, there standing in front of the bed was a man. Stubble lined his chin; his strong frame was illuminated softly in the flickering candlelight. Maka remembered him, he was the werewolf called Free, an enemy she had faced before.

"We've been waiting for you my dear." Medusa said stepping out of the shadows her robe showing off the curvature of her breasts. "Madness can be fun! Trust me once you spend some time with my friend here you will never be the same. He'll make you forget all about that death scythe and his little affliction." she said and kissed Maka gently on the neck making caressing it with a flick of her tongue. Maka gasped, she had felt this way in the shower, now she was feeling it again. "Give in," Medusa hissed in Maka's ear giving it a small nip, "It'll be fun." Maka closed her eyes. Free walked over to her and placed his arms around her embracing her against his strong chest. The scent of cologne and masculine sweat enveloped her.

"Trust me babe, I know what I'm doing." Free said, whispering gently in her ear. Maka let him kiss her, his tongue exploring her mouth.

"Soul, where are you?" Maka's mind screamed. A light illuminated a small area next to the bed. Soul sat there, his head against his knees. He wore a collar attached to a length of chain. Tethered to the wall Maka could still hear his soft whimpers. Maka broke the embrace and walked over to him, touching his snow white hair he looked up at her, black blood streamed from his nose and eyes. He began to laugh, a nervous titter at first then blowing up into full maniacal laughter. Maka stumbled backward and fell onto the floor. Free helped her up and smiled at her.

"Don't worry about him babe, he'll be fine. Now where were we?" he said. Maka tried to turn away but she found herself kissing the werewolf deeply, before falling backwards on the bed, his heavy body on top of her. He began licking her neck; she let little gasps of pleasure escape, before he moved down to her chest. Soon he found his way under her skirt. Giving her a sly smile he began to tease her, letting her squirm under his body. Maka's mind wanted to fight it, she had to. But the feelings she was experiencing were indescribable almost inhuman. "You want it babe?" He said Maka nodded. It was then she saw a form come from behind the werewolf, a thick hardback book in her hand.

"Maka Chop!" The voice shouted and slammed Soul's copy of "Under the Dome" onto Free's head, the werewolf spun around stumbling. The girl kicked him in the groin, knocking him down on his knees, before taking a knife and slicing open his throat. Blood sprayed from the wound. Maka stood up and looked at the girl standing beside the corpse. She looked exactly like her, from the pigtails to the red skirt and black coat.

"Who, who are you?" Maka said staring at the copy.

"I'm the last shred of sanity you have and if you want to get out of here and see your boyfriend then come with me." Other-Maka said and pulled Maka off the bed. Maka adjusted her skirt and walked over to the curtains. She knew she had to get out of here, the question was how?

Soul sat next to Maka her heart monitor making soft meep sounds. Looking at the battered and bruised form he smiled. "I'll never let you go. I will always be with you no matter what. I know you can save me. Just hold on, my beloved, hold on." He said and closed his eyes drifting off to sleep in the hospital chair. The dream was a beautiful one. Maka stood in a flowing gown in a field of wildflowers. Soul was wearing a tuxedo, as she walked up to him soft music began to play off in the distance, Ryan Adam's cover of "Wonderwall" the same song they made up to. Dancing together, the moonlight illuminated her blond hair. The scent of her Black Amethyst body wash and the wildflowers in her hair filled him with a sense of peace. Maka leaned in close to Soul to whisper in his ear.

"She is safe, be vigilant though, some threaten to destroy the bond that keeps the darkness at bay." Maka said. Soul looked at her, puzzled.

"What are you talking about?" he said. Maka looked at him.

"I am leading her back to sanity. Your love is a bond that keeps the darkness at bay. No longer does it course through your veins. Yet possibilities exist, choose your paths wisely, as for each misstep will lead to your doom. Avoid the raven haired lady, an agent of chaos is she. She works for the one with the snakes in her soul, and will stop you at no cost to those you care about. Heed my words Soul Evans, cherish these moments, for lost love means lost soul." Maka said and pulled away as the darkness enveloped the spaces inside the dream world, Soul reached out, trying to clasp her hand but fell down hard onto the ground. His eyes flew open and scanned the room.

"What a fucked up dream, not cool!" he said and looked at his watch it was midnight, officially day four of his black blood poisoning. 26 days left and soon he'd be doomed, but what did Maka mean in the dream. Soul leaned over and kissed her forehead then stretched out in a recliner in the room and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Steven sat in his study reading a vintage copy of "God Emperor of Dune" he had bought off of Amazon when he heard the knock on his door.

"Fuck, just when the book was getting good! I'm coming." He said and placed a Princess Peach bookmark in the pages. Walking to the door of his apartment he looked through the peephole. He saw a hooded figure standing at his door. "Who is it?" Steven said.

"Open up Mr. Shroyer we have things to discuss." The cloaked figure said. Steven shook his head.

"I don't open up for cloaked weirdos at twelve in the morning, go fuck yourself sister." Steven said and turned away. The figure kicked the door down, Steven spun around. "I don't own this fucking place you asshole, you better have some way to pay for that!" The cloaked figure moved closer as Steven inched backward. "I'm calling the police, I'm sure they'll enjoy hauling your ass to jail." He said and picked the phone up off its charger. The figure lunged slamming a knife into Steven's stomach. Coughing he collapsed to the floor, the figure removed her hood revealing her black hair.

"I did not stab you in a vital area; you can still call 911 if you wish. However know this much bookman, saving that girl was a big mistake. Throwing wrenches into my plans is not a wise thing to do; if you interfere with my work, I assure you death will be the next step." Morrison said.

"Who are you?" Steven said, hoarsely. This time Medusa spoke from Morrison's mouth.

"I am the devil and I am here to do the devil's work!" Medusa said and slammed the knife into Steven's hand pining it to the floor. Walking out Medusa let out a laugh as Steven screamed in agony, she then looked on the list and saw her next stop, 221 Depyster, the James residence.

_TBC_


	8. Day 4

30 Days

Day 4

_For Spawn and Amber_

_Author's Note: Once again I must state I don't own Soul Eater. I would also like to thank those of you who have favorite this story and subscribed, I hope I don't disappoint in this chapter.-Steve_

Steven winced as he pulled the knife out of his hand. He pulled himself off the floor, his gait a little unsteady as he made his way to the phone.

"911, I have to call 911." Steven kept on repeating to himself as he picked up his cordless phone and placed it in his wounded hand. Grimacing, he managed to clasp it and push the digits with his free hand. Hearing the operator's voice he began to give his location. Sitting in his favorite chair, he felt himself go slack, the phone falling from his hand. He was losing blood. Closing his eyes he began to think of his life to this point and thought of the girl who frequented his store.

"Maka, stay alive for Maka, damn it! Come on Shroyer pull it together!" His mind screamed at him. The approaching sirens were a comfort. "Right on time boys, now haul ass and get up here before I pass out and never wake up!" Steven said wryly his voice a hoarse whisper. The last sound he heard was the noise of the paramedic's boots walking in on the hardwood floor. Blacking out, his only hope was that Lance wasn't next.

The tile was that of a checkerboard pattern, white and black, shining with an almost eerie slickness. Maka followed the other self across the floor to a small line of doors. Maka looked behind her and then turned to the doors. Words were inscribed on the middles, cryptic words like, "The Real" and "The Void" Maka turned and looked at her other self. "How do I know which one to go through? None of this makes sense!" She said.

"Maka, madness can be contagious. Soul experienced it himself, but you saved him. Your love has removed all traces of darkness from him. However, your madness has been brought on by unknown factors, unseen ones that neither I nor those in your world can explain. You have to figure this out on your own, I cannot help you here." Other-Maka said. She walked over to the middle of the room where a table and a high backed chair sat in a spot of glowing light. Sitting down she pointed at the doors. "One of these doors leads to your realm. Only you have the key, I trust you can find your way back to the one you love. With that I bid thee farewell." Other-Maka said. Maka then felt heaviness in her palm. Looking she found a key. Instinctively she moved to the middle door and turned the key, and heard a click. She turned the knob and stepped through; she then heard a soft meep of a heart monitor.

Sunlight streamed through the hospital room on what was to be Soul's fourth day, only twenty six more to go. Shifting in a flimsy hospital blanket provided to him by a nurse hours before, Soul opened his eyes and looked around the room. Maka wasn't up yet, still in a coma. Walking up to her bed he smiled.

"Good morning my beloved," he said, "I wish I could see your emerald eyes again." leaning over he kissed her gently on the lips. It was then Maka slowly awoke, her eyelids moving in slow motion.

"Soul," She whispered, "Kiss me again." Soul stroked her hair and kissed her again, more passionately, tongues exploring familiar mouths.

"Maka, oh god, Maka, I was so terrified I'd lose you. Please tell me this is real!" Soul said his eyes rimmed with tears. Maka looked at him

"Does this feel real?" She said and kissed him again holding him close to her. It was then a cough was heard from the doorway of the room. It was Dr. Tenma.

"I'd hate to break this up. I see you're functioning quite well Ms. Albarn, not too surprising but still unusual all the same for someone in your situation. Do you know why you're here?" He said

"Some idiot was drunk ran into me I guess. I don't really know." Maka said as she propped herself up on her bed.

"That was exactly it, Ms. Albarn. I'd like to run a scan on your brain to make sure it is okay. There may be a slight chance of you going home today depending on if it turns out okay. You didn't break any bones, which in and of itself is unusual for a high impact crash. I'd say you got quite an angel watching out for you." Tenma said and smiled at Soul. He then turned and walked out of the room, stopping to talk to a nurse.

"Whatever you do, don't let her know about the three people that got attacked last night. I have got DCPD on my ass asking for security, and lord knows I don't want them here." Tenma said. Maka didn't know about Lance, Steven or Jennifer, and the less she knew the better.

"Justin, what is the status of Maka and the three bookstore workers? Justin? Justin? JUSTIN!" Shinigami-sama said as he stared at the meisterless death scythe. Justin Law was only 19 and currently he was blasting Lady Gaga out of his headphones at an ear splitting volume. Putting his iPod on pause, he pulled the headphones out of his ears and looked at Shinigami-sama.

"Yes sir?" He said. Shinigami-sama slapped his mask with one of his giant hands.

"I asked about Maka and the three bookstore workers! I need your report!" He said, Justin pulled out a file and opened it.

"At 12:15 AM, Death City General Hospital admitted Steven Shroyer; he had a six inch stab wound to the lower abdomen and a stab wound to the hand. He was later followed at 12:30 AM by Lance and Jennifer James, both suffered lacerations to the hands and face but unlike Shroyer managed to ID their attacker as Patricia "Patty" Morrison. Surveillance footage shows her in an outfit similar to one wore by late Snake Witch, Medusa, and entering The Glades apartment complex on north 93rd and taking the elevator to the ninth floor where Mr. Shroyer lives." Justin said.

"What about Maka? How is Maka Albarn?" Shinigami-sama said.

"Due to her possessing a grigori soul she has an extremely high healing factor, nobody knows this except for her father, Sprit. However there is the problem in the apartment complex where she lives. Are you aware that her apartment was once that of the kishen Asura?" Justin said.

"No, I was not. Is there still madness left there?" Shinigami-sama said clasping his hands together on his desk. Justin nodded.

"Marie did a scan on the apartment, although she took two hours to find it and wound up in another county, she did find a high level in Maka's bedroom. We are performing a cleansing as we speak."

"Good! Keep an eye out for Morrison and if she returns alert me immediately!" Shinigami-sama said and dismissed Justin; walking towards the window of his office he felt a feeling of fear. "Please, let me be wrong. Please don't let Medusa return." Shinigami-sama said

Maka's scan revealed nothing abnormal; it was as if her accident never happened. Tenma dismissed her at noon, with nothing but a simple "Take it easy" and went on his way. Death the Kid was waiting in his black Lexus, The Cranberries song, "Zombie" was playing on the local alternative station.

"Where's your bike?" Maka asked Soul as she stepped in.

"Mr. Shroyer drove me here. I guess he must be busy because I can't get his cell to answer so he could pick us up." Soul said. Kid snickered.

"What's so funny symmetry boy?" Soul asked.

"Nothing, it's just that the bookstore was closed today because Shroyer, James, and his wife were all attacked last night by some hooded figure. It's all over the news." Kid said.

"Oh my god, are they okay?" Maka asked. Kid nodded. Stopping at a stop light Kid turned and looked at Soul.

"You know I am only doing this because my father goaded me into it. I don't usually give a kishen a ride." Kid said.

"Fuck you Kid, I didn't get in this car to be bitched at!" Soul said as the light changed. Kid made a left and pulled into a parking space in front of their apartment.

"You know when the time comes I will destroy you?" Kid said placing the car in park and turning to look at Soul. Soul unbuckled his seatbelt and smiled.

"I'd like to see you try. You know ever since Maka and I have been together these past four days I haven't had one black blood incident or nightmare?" Soul said.

"Your point, Soul is? How do I know you're not a kishen egg already?" Kid said turning down the radio.

"I think it is true what they say when they say 'love conquers all'." Soul said and stepped out of the car with Maka behind him. Maka watched Kid pull out and drive out of the lot, the sounds of Oasis' "Falling Down" coming out of the sun roof.

"I wonder if things will ever be normal again, if we'll all be friends again?" Maka said as she walked toward the elevator and pressed the button for their floor. Soul shrugged.

"Maybe one day, but till then I guess we will just drift in this ocean of fear and uncertainty until we reach the land of sanity." He said the elevator made a ding and opened to the fourth floor. Swiping the key through the lock Maka walked in and sat on the couch. Soul turned on the CD player and let the soft electronic sounds of Madonna's "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" relax him and sat next to her.

"Maka you have changed me somehow, I don't know how but you have made me a better person now than what I was before. I think you have saved me." Soul said as Maka gazed into his eyes. She kissed him deeply and stroked his white hair. Sticking one hand up inside his t-shirt, stroking his chest Soul let out a gentle gasp. She took his hand led him to the bedroom. Laying him down on the bed she lifted up his shirt and kissed his lithely muscled chest and neck. Soul moaned as she made her way down to his stomach. Maka looked up at him, Soul knew what she wanted. He took off his shirt and lie back down on the bed letting her fingers walk up and down his chest. Soul rolled over and looked at her. Maka unbuttoned her sweater vest and dress shirt, letting Soul caress her chest, and kiss her neck. Letting out small gasps Soul, watched as she pulled down her skirt, letting herself go. Soul held her closes letting the scent of her strawberry shampoo fill his senses.

"Maka, I want you, oh god I want you so bad." Soul said. Maka planted a kiss on his lips, letting she finally give in to the passion she lay on the bed as Soul climbed on top of her, and let himself into the world he loved.

Peeking out of a slit in the adjoining bathroom door Marie watched the two of them make love; Feeling a small bit of lust inside of herself she reached underneath her dress, pausing for a moment.

"No not now, I might disturb them. Maybe later, then I can find my way out of here." She said as she watched intently.

Justin sat in the Nurses office, the door was locked. Sitting across from him was a woman with blond hair and a hooded cloak, a snake tongue darted in and out of her mouth.

"I know we have opposed each other before Justin, but let's let bygones be bygones. I want to work with you, to bring the power of kishen to this world. I just need you to do a little job for me. Keep it secret though." Medusa said.

"What do you ask of me?" Justin said. Medusa handed him a syringe and a vial of black blood.

"Give this to that blue haired brat and the skull masked fuck's son. I want their weapons infected too. Maybe through them we can cause a little friction between the scythe and his meister." Medusa said. Justin noticed the flecks of gold in the blood.

"What's with the particulate matter?" he said. Medusa smirked.

"Just a little additive of my own to stimulate their young hormones that I found in Stein's office. Get the picture?" she said. Justin laughed and then opened the vial placing a couple drops of a clear liquid he had pulled out of his pocket. The blood turned from black to clear, Justin smirked.

"I'll just make up some little story about some flu inoculations; they'll never know the difference." Justin said and shook Medusa's hand.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Law." she said and stepped out the door. Filling up five syringes, Justin immediately sent out messages for Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, Liz, and Patty.

"Let the games begin!" Justin said and waited for his patients.

_TBC_


	9. Day 4 Part 2

30 Days

Day 4 part 2

_Author's note: The following chapter once again contains content of a questionable nature. If you are of an age where your parents would throw a fit please stop now, otherwise enjoy. Also the song performed by Soul is "The Blowers Daughter" by Damien Rice and is property of his record company and not me- Steve_

"Ouch!" Black Star hissed through clenched teeth as the needle went into his arm. Justin had just finished giving the shots to Kid, Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki and Black Star was the last on his list. Smirking wryly Justin placed the bandage on Black Star's arm.

"Now remember, if you start experiencing side effects from the shot, just let me know. The swine flu is quite contagious and fatal amongst young people these days so we just wanted to take precautions." Justin said as he dropped the syringe into the sharps container on the wall.

"Wasn't the swine flu thing last year?" Black Star said as he stood up and walked toward the door.

"Shibusen academy wants to take all the necessary precautions just in case an outbreak occurs this year. Run along now, you'll be just fine." Justin said and watched as Black Star shut the door. Tossing the vial of black blood into the trash Justin put in his headphones and leaned back in his chair. He wondered how they would react to their new found desires, fighting them wouldn't work and the black blood would certainly make things better. Justin thought of Maka being ravished by the brute that was Black Star, and became aroused. "Soon, Justin, soon." he told himself and popped an Adderal he had stolen from the academy pharmacy.

Maka awoke, to find Soul out of the room, beside her a note was on his pillow. Picking it up she began to read aloud.

"Maka, Went out for a bit, will be home soon. Maybe we can get dinner somewhere, my treat. Your beloved, Soul, PS: Marie was in the bathroom, she got lost again I gave her directions home." She said and chuckled at the last bit. Walking into the bathroom she turned the shower on and stepped inside letting it caress her skin. She felt new, alive for the very first time in her life. These past four days had been magic, nothing less. Lathering up her body with the Black Amethyst body wash she had bought from Bath and Body Works she let her mind drift to Soul. His snow white hair and lean body with just a trace of a scar from where Rangnarok had sliced him made her tremble. Maka was in love no doubt about it. Stepping out of the shower; she dried her hair and tied it into her familiar pigtails. She picked out a blue silk dress that she had worn the night she met Soul. Looking at herself in the mirror she smiled. If only she knew what the day had in store.

Black Star didn't know why he was there; the voice just commanded him to go. It had been thirty minutes since he got the flu shot from Justin and now he was hearing things, strange things. The voice sounded like his, loud and boisterous, he couldn't figure out why.

"Just remember why you're here." The voice said Black Star clamped his hands over his ears.

"Shut up, shut up, you're not real, and you're not talking to me right now!" Black Star said the voice laughed.

"Oh but I am, I am as real as you are. You've desired her for some time, give in to your desires and I will show you all the powers of the gods. Isn't that what you wanted, to surpass the gods?" The voice said. He removed his hands from his ears.

"Yes, yes I do, whatever you say, master." Black Star said and snickered along with the voice in his head.

Maka was reading a copy of _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies_ when she heard the knock at the door. Placing her bookmark inside, she walked over to the door.

"Yes, who is it?" She said.

"It's Black Star, can I come in?" Black Star said sheepishly. Maka was confused. Why would that dunce of a fighter come over to her house unless he had and ulterior motive. "He must be looking for Soul." she thought. She opened the door, her hands on her hips.

"Look, I know you're here to kill Soul but unfortunately he's not here. Good for me, bad for you, now get the hell away from here." Maka said Black Star shuffled his feet.

"Actually Maka, I was here to see you." Black Star said looking down at his feet. Maka was shocked.

"Come in then," Maka said and ushered him inside. "Can I get you something to drink?" Black Star shook his head and sat on the couch.

"Maka the reason I am here is, well," Black Star said pausing to collect his thoughts, "Maka I think I am in love with you." he said. Maka was shocked, she didn't know whether to laugh or tell him the truth.

"Black Star I, I don't know what to say." Maka said as Black Star placed a finger over her lips, to hush her.

"Maka, I have dreamed of this day since we met. I never wanted anything more in my entire life." Black Star said Maka felt weak. Something in Black Star's soul wavelength was turning her on.

"Kiss me, please Maka; all I need is a kiss." Black Star said as Maka looked him in the eyes. She pressed him close to her and let him kiss her, their tongues dancing a forbidden dance. Black Star made his way underneath her dress touching her chest, cupping her breast in his hand. Maka moaned softly, a wave of confusion filled her mind. His hand then moved lower as he nuzzled her neck, teasing her gently, making her gasp. Maka then heard a voice inside her head.

"Maka, Maka, remember what I told you, only you have the key." it was the other self from the hospital. Maka snapped back to her senses, and tried to push Black Star off of her. He was relentless not letting her go. Black Star's wavelength was too strong, almost like it was smothering her. Grabbing her hand he led her to the bedroom. Maka could only watch a third person view in her own head. Black Star removed his tank top, revealing his strong body, one he had worked on for years. Maka slid her dress off her shoulders letting it fall; she lay back on the unmade bed and took in the scent of Black Star's Axe Instinct body spray, as he proceeded to take her. He felt his warmth, as he allowed himself access to the area she kept secret, an area only known to Soul. Black Star was like an animal letting out ferocious grunts. Maka was in ecstasy yet the voice spoke to her again.

"Maka, you are descending down a dark path, continue down this road and only tragedy will follow." Other-Maka said. Maka couldn't respond. The wavelength was too powerful. She could only submit to Black Star's will. It was then she heard a voice speak from the doorway.

"Maka, no, no, this isn't happening!" Soul said as Black Star turned around and smiled, it was then he noticed a small black line from the fighter's nose.

"Oh god, no, I'm dreaming this!" Soul shouted, just as Black Star finished up and got dressed.

"See ya later, babe!" Black Star said. Maka's eyes were closed; the wavelength's power had rendered her unconscious. Soul chased after him, following the drops of black blood. Just as he reached the elevator Soul caught the doors closing, Black Star waving as black blood flowed from his nose. Collapsing to the floor Soul began to weep. The black blood flowed from his nose; he had lost Maka to another man. A voice spoke to him from the inner corners of his mind.

"Soul, it's a trick. Trust me, she still loves you. Something is wrong with your friends and you know it, you must right this wrong. You hold the key, only you can stop what is going on." Other-Maka said as Soul got up and turned back to the apartment.

Maka awoke to find she was lying unclothed on her bed, she could remember a dark wavelength overcoming her, and somehow it was connected to Black Star.

"Soul, are you here?" Maka said, smoothing out her dress. Soul was strumming a guitar, and singing.

"And so it is, just like you said it would be, life goes easy on me, most of the time." He sang, "And the so it is, the shorter story, no love no glory, no hero in her skies." Maka smiled it was her favorite song. "I can't take my eyes off of you; I can't take my eyes off of you." Maka began to weep; Soul stopped and set down his guitar. He held Maka close to him letting her sob into his riding jacket.

"It's all right Maka, I know you didn't mean to. Something is wrong here, very wrong, we'll get to the bottom of it. I know we both will." Soul said and stroked her hair. Maka smiled her eyes glistening with tears.

"Soul, it was, it was like I was not in control of my body. I don't know why, but I lost it. Forgive me?" Maka said. Soul gave one of his Cheshire cat grins. Maka kissed him and looked him in the eyes. "So what's for dinner?" She asked

"I was thinking that nice Italian restaurant that Mr. Shroyer recommended to me today. I visited him in the hospital. He should be out in a couple days." Soul said, Maka smiled, she could go for some Chicken Carbonara.

Black Star stood at the top of the apartment complex, black blood streaming from his nose. He knew he had done wrong, and now he must pay. Closing his eyes and spreading his arms wide he moved closer to the edge of the building. It was then a door opened.

"Oh dear, he said make a left at the stairwell. I'd lose my own head if it wasn't," Marie paused and looked at Black Star. "Black Star, what are you doing?" she said, he turned his head and smiled, Marie raced over to the ledge just as he fell off. Around her the sounds of car alarms blared, Marie looked down, hoping not to see what she feared. Black Star wasn't there, only a dent in a 1999 Pontiac and a smudge of black blood. Marie walked over to the window on the door and called Shinigami-sama.

"Sir, we've got a situation. The blood's spreading." she said.

_TBC_


	10. Day 4 Part 3

30 Days

Day 4 Part 3

_For Spawn and Amber. _

_Author's Note: This episode contains scenes once again of a questionable nature. If this offends you don't read on. The song Soul and Maka sing is "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" By Meatloaf and Marion Raven and is property of its writer Jim Steinman and whatever music company owns it not me. I also do not own Soul Eater and the characters are property of their own creators and not me- Steve_

Marie stood next to Shinigami-sama looking at the dent in the Pontiac Black Star landed on.

"He just got up and ran off!" Marie said. Shinigami-sama stared at the small drops of black blood, touching it then rubbing it between his fingers. He let out a small sigh; the black blood had found its way into Shibusen, but how?

"Marie, be honest with me, do you know of anyone who would have the means for bringing the blood in here? Do you know of any Medusa sightings, anything of that sort?" Shinigami-sama said moving down the row of cars towards the main receiving area for new meisters. Marie followed.

"We have no reports of the snake witch in the area however there was a medical emergency earlier today. Five students were summoned to the nurse's office for H1N1 inoculations." She said, Shinigami-sama stopped and turned around.

"Didn't we have those done late last year?" He said and placed his large palm on a scanner giving him direct access to his office.

"The five students were, Tsubaki, Liz and Patty, Black Star, and your son sir. We don't know exactly if they were given the shots last year or not?" Marie said Shinigami-sama sat down with a thump in a large, high backed office chair.

"Have Sid check their records, and all boosters in the med clinic. If what I am thinking is right we may have quite a situation on our hands." Shinigami-said Marie nodded and looked around the office. He sighed. "First door on your left, then make a right till you reach the teachers' lounge Marie." Marie laughed.

"Thank You sir, I would lose my head if it weren't attached to my neck." She said and walked out. Shinigami-sama clasped his hands and prayed to whatever god was available for someone like him that his son had not succumbed to the blood.

The Italian restaurant was a quaint affair, food modestly price and of high quality. Somewhere off in the distance Pavarotti was singing "Vesti La Giubba" from Leoncavallo's _Pagliacci_ while Soul cut into the final bits of his Veal Parmesan. Maka took a sip of her sparkling red grape juice that was sitting in an ice bucket, and took a worked on her Chicken Carbonara before taking breadstick from the basket and mopping the last bits of cream sauce from her plate.

"Soul?" Maka said shyly. Soul swallowed his last piece of Veal and looked up from his plate.

"Something wrong Maka?" He said as he took a sip of the grape juice, Maka shook her head.

"I just want to know, if you think something strange is at work here? I mean in the past four days I have fallen more in love with you than ever, we have become so close and well I just think something larger is at work." Maka said.

'You've had those visions too huh?" He said looking into her sparkling emerald eyes.

"It's like another me, a more in control me, she guides me. But she's so damn cryptic; I don't ever understand what she is saying." Maka said

"She appeared to me after the incident today with Black Star, I can't exactly recall what she said but somehow I think it may have to do with a cure for the black blood." Soul said as the waiter came with the check and he handed him his debit card. Soul clasped Maka's hand and smiled. Maka couldn't help but notice the way his ruby red eyes glistened in the soft candlelight on the table. "No matter what, we will be together, forever." Soul said and Maka leaned over the table and kissed him deep and passionate. The waiter made a small cough and the broke it off. Signing what his brother and Chris Farley aficionado Wes would have called his "Herbie Hancock" Soul and Maka left the restaurant and hopped on Soul's motorcycle, the sun setting a beautiful orange in the sky. Maka wrapped her arms around Soul and rest her head on his shoulder. "Together, forever." Maka thought and smiled.

Liz was giggling softly as her sister nuzzled her neck leaving soft kisses in her wake.

"This is so wrong!" Liz said looking in Patty's sapphire eyes. Her sister kissed her deeply their tongues dancing forbidden steps. Liz rolled Patty on the bed pinning her down, unbuttoning her sister's shirt and stroking her breasts, giving her nipples a small flick. Patty moaned as Liz kissed every inch of her body before undoing her short shorts and teasing her. Kid watched this whole thing and couldn't stand it anymore. Stepping through the doorway he turned Liz's head towards his and kissed her passionately and deeply. Taking off his blazer Liz let her hands explore Kid's slim chest, toned yet not quite like Black Star's. Climbing In the bed, he kissed Patty and began moving down to her sensitive areas making her gasp. The passion was warming up the room. Next door, shrouded in soft candlelight Black Star had begun making wild passionate love to Tsubaki. Tsubaki was in ecstasy. Light from the candles added soft shadows to the fighter's strong body glistening with sweat. She begged him to go harder and was rewarded with the best feeling of her entire life, she wondered if this is what all women dream of when they are making love. As the couples finished, the black blood in their veins dripping from their noses leaving inky marks on the pillows they heard his voice.

"My children, my beloved servants," Asura said, "I hope you enjoy the pleasure I have given you. Yet there is work that needs to be done. She is cleansing him, we must stop her. I must be reborn! Obey me and I will show you pleasure beyond your wildest dreams!" He said the five of them stood up and systematically got dressed and walked toward their meeting place. The black blood had reduced them to subservient, pleasure craving zombies. Asura's Stepford Children willing to do as he pleased. Sealed in a bag somewhere in the bowels of hell Asura smiled and fell into a dark dreamless sleep.

Soul turned on the Karaoke machine hooked up to the TV. He watched as Maka picked up the microphone alongside him. Soul gulped and began to sing.

"There were nights when the wind was so cold, that my body froze in bed if I just listened to it right outside the window." He sang. Maka turned to him.

"There were days when the sun was so cruel that all the tears turned to dust and I knew my eyes were drying up forever." She sang then they both began to sing.

"I finished crying in the instant you left, and I can't remember where or when or how and I banished every moment you and I have ever made." Their voices making a haunting harmony together, looking into Soul's eyes Maka continued.

"But when you touch me like this, and you hold me like that, I just have to admit that it's all coming back to me now." Maka sang tears forming in her eyes; Soul smiled and held her close.

"I love you, oh god Soul I love you." Maka said.

"Je t'aime mon bien-aimé" Soul said trying out a little French on her, he had recently picked it up when he visited Mr. Shroyer in the hospital and he was talking to his wife Anne. Maka knew what it meant, "I love you my beloved." It was then the sounds of hip hop blasted from outside their window. Chamillionare's "Ridin'" Soul looked out the window and saw Kid's Lexus.

"Fuck me running, what do they want?" Soul said as he pulled himself away from the window.

"A noise violation ticket probably!" Maka said as she shut off the Karaoke machine and TV.

"Fucking assholes, if they try to pull some shit I'll death scythe their ass." Soul said and watched as the two meisters and their weapons walked into the apartment complex. Maka sat in her chair breathing softly as she heard the elevator door made a ding as it arrived on her floor. Fear gripped her; somehow their wavelengths were not right, abnormal and violent. Something bad was going to happen. Suddenly the door blasted open, Kid stood there his guns aimed at Soul, and the scythe formed one of his arms into a blade and slashed at Kid, missing him. Kid opened fire two rounds hitting Soul in the arm. Black Star pounced on Soul pinning him to the ground. "Soul!" Maka shouted Kid fired three shots missing Maka by inches but leaving holes in the drywall. Black Star wrapped a chain around Soul's neck and tied it tight, he gasped for breath.

"Black Star? why?" That was all that could escape Soul's throat before he blacked out. Screaming, Maka raced over to him Black Star slashed and cut her arm. Clutching it Maka backed off as the two meisters came close to her.

"Please, what did I do to you?" Maka said her eyes filled with tears. Kid smirked.

"It's what our master wants Maka, now say goodnight." Kid said.

"Son, don't!" Shinigami-sama shouted from the doorway but was helpless as the shots rang out striking Maka in the chest. "Nooooooooo!" the death god shouted and cradled Maka in his arms, her pulse was faint but she was still alive, in shock but alive. Shinigami-sama picked up the two lovers and walked towards a mirror. Fogging it he wrote his direct line to the hospital in the condensation and stepped through. "I need a doctor now!" He shouted. Maka and Soul were quickly placed on gurneys and hauled away.

"How did this happen?" Spirit Albarn said as he sat in his hotel room looking at his laptop. Marie and Sid were sitting together.

"Medusa found her way in somehow, we don't know. She allied herself with Justin Law, it was there he used a spirit reagent to make the black blood look like a normal booster and gave it to the five subjects." Marie said.

"Do you have any idea where they are, what they might be doing?" Spirit said. Marie looked at him.

"They were at your daughter's apartment a few moments ago. They attacked; Shinigami-sama is with them right now at the hospital. I am sorry to say this Spirit-Kun but your daughter may not make it." Marie said. Spirit shut off his web cam and began to sob.

In a familiar room Maka saw her other self again, her hair shining in a halo of white light. Maka stood there and listened that's all she could do.

"You must not fear Maka, you must pull through. If we lose you then darkness will overtake him." Other-Maka said.

"What about the black blood? Does he still have it?" Maka asked. Other Maka vanished.

"Hello pretty girl, what brings you here?" a voice behind Maka said and placed his hand over her mouth. It was Asura, Maka tried to fight him off but he was too strong. He dragged her to his room, and tied her to his bed. "Soon you'll be mine." the Kishen said and began removing his many layers of clothing. Maka screamed.

Meanwhile somewhere off in this dreamspace, Soul heard a scream.

_TBC_


	11. Day 5

30 Days

Day 5

_Author's note: Once again there is content of a questionable nature and may offend those who are not of age. I must reiterate that I do not own Soul Eater or its characters. The character of Shinji is an original character based off a toy that a friend won for me in a claw game and is my property. Please ask before use. Also Shinji uses a sword at the end which is referred to by its traditional name._

_For Spawn, may all your dreams come true.-Steve_

Dreamspace is quite a world of its own, accessed by either living or dead. Some would say it is an in between realm between whichever destination your soul goes to. As Doctors began operating on Maka and Soul was under sedation, dreamspace warped and weaved around them. The walls were the color of neon blood, bright red, almost pulsating. Soul heard Maka's cries from the room of to the left of where he was standing. The sounds were distant yet near, almost as if it was from a far off radio signal fading in and out. Turning the slick fleshy orb that was the knob Soul looked into the candlelit room. Asura was about to take off his last layer of clothing, his lithe body almost as frail as his sanity. Maka struggled, as moved down to his underclothes. Soul looked on making his arm form a scythe blade.

"It's party time!" Soul whispered when he saw a black blur fly by and slash Asura in half. The bottom and top halves separated and fell on the floor with a slick plop. The blur then moved towards the bed and untied Maka, before coming to a stop and looked at Soul, his eyes a bright purple.

"You can relax now." The purple eyed man said before running into a wall and disappearing.

Maka got up and raced toward soul holding him close and watching as the room melted into a different setting.

"What the hell is this place? Maka asked as red curtains surrounded the room, a piano sat in the middle.

"It must be some alternate reality, a dream of some sort." Soul said as Other-Maka arrived, her entire body glowing. The piano began playing a dark haunting melody, unknown to Soul or Maka as she danced around the room her white dress billowing around her.

"This is like an episode of Twin Peaks." Maka said as she stared at the figure dancing and then walked toward the curtains Soul close behind. In the distance she heard a soft meep, a heart monitor, the dreamspace was closing, and reality was coming into view.

The gunshot wounds had pierced her heart but not so much as entered a ventricle, Maka was receiving a blood transfusion, to replace the pints lost, as she almost was. Vision blurry she could make out the soft form of Mr. Shroyer and the black shape that was Shinigami-sama. Whispering hoarsely she looked at the slowly forming shapes.

"Soul, where's, Soul?" Maka said. Mr. Shroyer smiled warmly and hugged Maka gently.

"He's going to be okay. They are going to keep you here for a few days until you heal. Kid did one hell of a number on ya kiddo, praise god you're all right." Mr. Shroyer said handing Maka a trade paperback copy of "Under the Dome"

"If you want to read about madness, this is a good place to start." Mr. Shroyer said waiving a bandaged hand. Shinigami-sama turned to Mr. Shroyer.

"I have some business to attend to at Shibusen, will you watch," Steven stopped the death god.

"Not a word, Shinigami my friend, after all we're in this together. I just hope you catch the bastards who did this." he said as the death god moved toward a mirror and walked through.

He moved in shadow, clad only in black, the purple sash with shuriken embroidered on it was the only color he allowed himself. His name was Shinji and he was a ninja, a damn good one at that. A rarity at Shibusen he was the only person who was both a meister and a weapon at the same time. He'd retired from killing ages ago after the last battle with Asura, now he was on a for hire basis. If the price was right he could do any job you needed him to, and when the nebbish bookstore clerk called him on behalf of his old boss, he had to tell his roommate once again, he was going out and to keep the commlink open. His roommate was Wes Evans a talented violinist who had a knack for mental hacking. When he wasn't playing sold out concerts Wes was a hacker in the dreamspace. Usually with the right cocktail of drugs he could send you into the other world to do anything. Want to make love to a Disney Princess; Wes could make that happen for a fee. Want to blow a certain Alaskan's head off; Wes would make it happen and ensure said person felt it as any pain in any part of their body. Dreamspace hacking was fairly new. A method of mental health treatment that had been going through clinical trials but no conclusive results, though hacking still was not proven safe. Dreamspace was like virtual reality without the glasses or technology not fully realized. Shinji touched the button on his commlink.

"Wes, status update on the Albarn girl, pronto." He said Wes began typing on his computer looking at medical data.

"Dreamspace healed at 0100 hours that's one AM FYI. Surrealist ending tacked on for kicks, boy was it a doozy. Shinji closed the connection and swiftly moved toward the area where Shinigami-sama was waiting. Deftly he moved into the room and stood behind the death god.

"So you know, skully I will need the cash up front." Shinji said as Shinigami-sama sat down at his desk and rubbed his temples.

"Really Shinji, I don't want to discuss payment just yet. I have more pressing matters to attend to. Besides you are here on a mission not a mercenary job." Shingami-sama groaned.

"Your kid and his buddies nearly kill two people and you have some freak in Elvis Costello glasses call me, tellin me you're offering me thirty large to do a mission. Now where I come from thirty large means one of two things, either you need some serious help or some shit's gonna blow up!"

"Oh come on Shinji, we all know Wes makes enough in for the two of you with his concerts!" Shinigami-sama said, and tossed the Stein report at the ninja.

"Soul Evans, Wes' brother right, you gotta be shitting me? What has that prick been getting into now?" Shinji said and thumbed through the report, speed reading everything. "Black blood infection, love may clear it up, what kinda shit is this, some kinda fantasy novel pitch?" He said.

"That is what I need you to clean up. We have five students running around with black blood in their system, my son included, and one in recovery which is Soul. We need you to bring the five here, they may be at their apartment complex. You will get your thirty thousand when they are cured. Show no mercy, they can heal themselves." Shinigami-sama said and tossed a photo of his targets to the ninja. Shinji froze at one of the pictures, and then looked up, his eyes fear rimmed.

"You sure they can heal themselves?" Shinji said. Shingami nodded. He walked out toward the window and looked down. "Been nice talkin to ya skully, see ya on flipside." Shinji said and jumped. Looking down he knew that the ninja knew. He saw someone familiar.

Patty lay on the bed as Black Star kissed her stomach and her breasts, moaning softly as she watched from the corner of her eye, Liz and Tsubaki making out. Kid was out, walking the streets looking for an innocent to kill; his murderous blood lust could not be quenched tonight. Patty and the other three infected preferred to channel the black blood's desires into more carnal pleasures. "Could you use the cuffs this time, please?" Patty asked as she reached over to the nightstand and held a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs. Black Star smirked and slapped the cuffs on Patty's wrists securing her to the bed posts. Black Star then proceeded to tease her gently; the sounds of Tsubaki and Liz getting it on made him ever more lustful, teasing her and licking her more furiously. It was then Black Star heard a thump on the roof. Even though they were only on the fifth floor his hearing was quite acute. He stopped what he was doing and got dressed.

"I was almost there!" Patty whined, Black Star smirked and walked out barefoot.

"Don't worry sis we'll make you feel good!" Liz said as she and Tsubaki crawled seductively to the bed. Liz licked Patty's foot playfully, making the girl giggle as Tsubaki's tongue danced around her nipple. Black Star looked then walked out.

Soul sat next to Mr. Shroyer watching Maka sleep, "Under the Dome" laid on her lap a bookmark on page 293.

"You love her, don't you?" Steven said as he leaned back in his chair. Soul nodded.

"I have always been shy, but she, she makes me come out of my shell." Soul said putting his one good arm behind his head; the other was in a dark blue sling.

"I never found a woman like Maka up at Kent. Nothing but slutty girls in stripper heels that would take photos of you hauling garbage at 2 A.M, I found one girl though that was close. Her name was Sarah and she was an RA." Steven said.

"What's that?" Soul asked.

"Kinda like a landlord for dorms, only no rent calls and more fun. Anyway we were in love, and I mean madly in love. Then one night we got into a fight over my job. She said I worked too much and never spent enough time with her. I could never say no to the Rosie's gang. So she walked out of her dorm, and went walking around campus. It was 2AM and I was on break when I saw the cars outside near the rotunda. I went outside and saw her," Mr. Shroyer choked up and brushed away a tear, "She was shot, in the chest, I saw her lying there in a pool of blood. I could see her mouth move whispering my name. I wanted to hold her, comfort her. They let me through to see her and she told me, that she loved me, and never to forget her. She sang the song that we used to sing together at karaoke," Steven cleared his throat, his voice choked with sobs, "'Come what may, I will love you till my dying day' and she closed her eyes and I kissed her as she breathed her last breath." He broke down.

"How have you managed to survive?" Soul asked.

"Books, and more books, my point is Soul is you should cherish this girl, love her with all your might, never let her go, because you never know when you're gonna lose them." He stepped outside; Soul leaned over Maka and kissed her forehead.

"Together forever Maka, together forever, come what may." He whispered in her ear. Secretly awake, Maka smiled.

Black Star stood on the roof staring at the black and purple clad figure. "I knew I would have to do this one day." He said. "I would hate to kill you so quickly, maybe we can wait till Kid comes home and torture you?"

"But you won't, will you, brother dear?" Shinji said and pulled out his daisho.


	12. Day 5 part 2

30 Days

Day 5 part 2

_For Spawn, this chapter is for you._

Black Star raced toward Shinji, preparing to land a roundhouse kick at the ninja's head. Just as he was about to make contact, Black Star felt something grab his foot. Shinji held the sneaker clad foot at the ankle and gave it a twist, a sickening crunch followed. Black Star screamed in pain, he tried to stand up but collapsed in a heap.

"Damn you!" He shouted. Shinji lowered his mask revealing his purple soul patch that matched the purple in his eyes. Smirking, Shinji hefted Black Star over his shoulder and walked toward the stairs.

"Now you're going to be a good little brother and tell me where your friends are!" Shinji said as he walked down the steps. He really didn't need to ask, he could feel the soul wavelengths of the three girls from the hallway.

Shinji's past was an odd one; he was on a mission for the Star clan when Shinigami-sama destroyed them. On the surface, the ninja clan was seemingly turning into kishen; however Shinji refused to resort to their lifestyle. He knew his mother was pregnant with Black Star and he knew when he returned from his mission she and the baby would be gone. He didn't expect to see his brother again, nor break his foot. Yet as Shinji knocked on the door of apartment 416 he knew the boy passed out on his back would not become what their father was. This was the reason Shinji ran away from home to join Shibusen, so at one point he could defeat his family's scourge.

The girl standing at the door was a pretty young thing. Long blond hair that nearly draped over her ample chest, the sounds of sleep were in the air. Liz Thompson had just committed incest and she was now worn out. Rubbing her eyes she looked at the ninja staring back at her and noticed Black Star's foot. She tried to say something but blacked out as Shinji's ninja sleep pinch took her away. Hefting all four bodies to on his shoulder, he made his way to the nearest mirror to summon Shinigami-sama.

Kid loved the feeling of killing people. He loved to watch their eyes glaze over and roll in the back of their heads, the way they pleaded for their lives. Kid had just finished killing a homeless person, a Vietnam vet to boot. He had kicked the man several times in the head, with a pair of steel toed shoes; his head now was a gaping pulpy mess. This was his favorite type of kill, violent and nasty, and as he walked down the street, leaving bloody prints on the sidewalk he felt at peace. Let Black Star and the others have their sex, this was true pleasure. Kid whistled an old Broadway musical tune as he strolled past the book store where a blond haired man was setting up a sign advertising their wide stock of Richard Laymon novels and a fifty percent off sale on all Bizarro fiction. Kid looked around and barely even noticed the city melting around him. Kid barely heard Shinji tell Wes, to hook up the neural GPS to locate Kid. Moreover Kid barley felt the neck pinch that put him to sleep and on the way back to his house.

"You want me to do what, Soul?" Steven asked the death scythe as Maka lay asleep in her hospital bed.

"I would like you go to this thing with me!" Soul said pulling out an advertisement for a rave in Death City's warehouse district.

"Hell no, there is no way you are going to force me to go to one these things. I mean there are a lot of drugs and the music gives me a headache." Steven said as a cat wandered into the room wearing a witch's hat.

"I'll go with you, Soul!" Blair said as Steven stood their open mouthed.

"Now I have seen some fine pieces of pussy in my day, but this is the first piece of pussy that actually was one!" Steven said. Blair smiled and stroked Soul's snow white hair.

"Blair seriously, Maka and I are in a relationship right now. I feel it would be highly inappropriate for you to come to this with me. Now just run off, and hit on one of the orderlies." Soul said as. Blair hugged Soul pressing his face to her huge breasts.

"Please Soul; I always wanted to go to one of these things!" Blair said as Maka stirred in her sleep.

"Just take the whore to the rave, I'll be fine." Maka murmured sleepily. Soul kissed Maka on the forehead and smiled.

"If she say's its okay then it's okay. I'll pick you up at eight." Soul said and walked out of the room. Steven continued to look at Blair.

"Say, if you're free afterwards, I live on the Upper West Side maybe you and I could get together? You know maybe go out to dinner, converse a bit." Steven said as Blair laughed.

"You're not my type, too bookish. Books give me a headache anyway." Blair said and kissed Steven on the cheek, causing him to faint.

The five infected students lay unconscious on gurneys, black blood inhibitors flowing into their veins, a computer keeping count on how many cells remained. The outcome was good, slowly but surely they were removing all the black blood from their bodies. Shinigami-sama stood at the window of the lab ant watched. Marie was thumbing through a file on Justin Law, so far no indication of madness. Yet he was working for someone on the other side, Medusa no doubt, but where was she. Shinji was on his commlink trying to get Wes to set up a Neural GPS link on Medusa, but so far her brain waves were not showing up on the advanced computer system. Shinigami-sama looked at the students and wondered how he lost control. He knew Soul and Maka were under control, his black blood nearly diminished by the love of his one and only, yet this troubled him. Shinigami-sama heard the voice in his head, the silky smooth voice that pierced his Soul.

"This is a game you can't win Shinigami-sama, all your cards have been played." Medusa said, Shingami-sama shook his head and clasped his head with his huge white hands.

"Go away, get out of my head you damn witch!" he whispered angrily.

"Soon you will be mine, all of your little students too, everything belongs to madness!" Medusa said and disappeared. Shinigami-sama felt a warm trickle flow down his from his mask. Touching it he saw his worst nightmare. The black blood had got him, but how? He screamed and collapsed on his pointy leg. Marie looked at him.

"Sir, Sir?" She asked and saw the blood. "Shinji, get Stein on the commlink we have a problem!"

The rave was a strange affair. Arriving at 8:15 Soul and Blair walked into a sea of people. Flashing lights and lasers pierced the dark warehouse. The sounds of Nightcore's "Wriemia Agniej" blasted from a DJ system in the far back. Through the strobe light Soul could see Blair seductively dancing, in fast bursts. A young kid about Soul's age was twirling two glow sticks on a string, Soul felt really good, almost euphoric. Dancing to the music Soul felt almost like these days of fear were over. That black blood had left him, and he felt comfortable being with Maka and others at once. Someone handed him a plastic cup, taking a sip Soul couldn't taste anything, it tasted like 7UP but, then again he didn't know what kind of drugs they used here. As the night wore on Soul felt even more relaxed, almost sleepy, Blair walked over to him.

"Soul, are you okay?" Blair said as Soul stumbled and then collapsed to the ground. Feeling his pulse, she knew he was alive. She smirked and picked him up and took him back to his apartment on his motorcycle.

Blair took of her top and climbed on top of the unconscious boy. She placed her hands on his lithely muscled chest and kissed him deeply, he wasn't awake yet, the GHB she had slipped in his drink had put him out. She unbuckled his pants and pulled them off, freeing the area known only to Maka. She smiled at the size of him, just right for a girl like her. The coolness of the central air caused Soul to stir; he was coming out of his stupor. Blair wasn't trying to cover up what she was doing but when he bolted up and saw her with her mouth near his member, he tried to push her off.

"Come on big boy, I'll show you a good time." Blair said. Soul swung his legs off the bed and picked his pants up, pulling them back on.

"Blair, how many times do I have to tell you? I am with Maka now and that's who I want to be with forever! I appreciate the offer but you need to find someone else." Soul said. Blair gave him a puppy dog look.

"But Spirit-Kun is out of the country, how else am I supposed to get some action?" Blair said stroking Soul's thigh.

"Buy a vibrator, I don't care, just stay away from me!" Soul said and pushed her off of him.

"You'll want me someday Soul!" Blair shouted as she put on her top and strode toward the door.

"Yeah, I'll give you a call if I want the clap!" Soul shouted as Blair slammed the front door.

Stein hated to leave Prague so early, but this was urgent. Spirit sat next to him sipping a vodka and tonic, and looking at the files.

"How widespread is this?" He asked. Stein twisted the screw in his head.

"Five students and the master himself, this is the worst I've seen it Sprit." Stein said as he put on his headphones and listened to the radio on the plane. Spirit thumbed through pictures of the students, and then looked at the medical records. Time was of the essence here, and here the nightmare was just beginning.

Shinigami-sama struggled on his gurney, as he fought against the madness, yet every moment he was failing. He looked at the others near him, wondering what they would do with him gone. He remembered their black blood count was at over fifty percent. Summoning all his strength he broke his straps and removed the IV's from the five students. Waking his son up he saw the smile on his face as he noticed the black blood streaming from his fathers mask.

"Wake up your friends son, we have special work to do!"


	13. Day 6

30 Days

Day 6

_Author's Note: Again same warning as the past chapters, I do not own Soul Eater either._

While Soul was watching Top Gear in their apartment Maka was dreaming in a hospital room, it was the last day of her stay. In the dream she was laying on a bed, the room was lit with candles. She could feel silk sheets underneath her it was then they arrived. Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty were walking closer to the bed. They were completely nude, the candlelight giving accentuating their curves.

"What is going on?" Maka said. Tsubaki hushed her by planting a kiss on her lips, her tongue invading Maka's mouth. Liz had already begun unbuttoning Maka's blouse and began leaving soft kisses on her stomach and breasts. Patty along with Tsubaki was nuzzling Maka's neck kissing it and nibbling her ears. Patty licked the Maka's neck, her tongue making its way up her cheek. Liz had one of Maka's between her fingers and gave it a playful twist. Maka gasped, she was enjoying this, Tsubaki already was teasing Maka ever so slightly, the warmth of her fingers made Maka shudder. The girls were taking turns licking and caressing Maka's sensitive area, until Maka reached her climax, letting out a gentle gasp of pleasure. The girls left, just as a voice spoke from beyond the darkness.

"You're mine!" The voice said just as Medusa's face flashed in front of Maka's eyes. Bolting upright Maka looked around the hospital room, sunlight was streaming in, and a familiar dampness came from her nether regions. Confused, Maka closed her eyes and drifted into a dreamless rest.

"God damn it, I don't need her here!" Sprit shouted as he sat around a crowed and smoky conference room. The idea of having his ex-wife here was something of a testy issue for Sprit Albarn. Kami was his second partner, a meister first class, her name came up as Shinji and Wes was looking at the list of potential people to call for security.

"Death Scythe, please try to understand, she is very powerful and one of the top misters we have had. She would be an asset to this team." Stein said as he took a drag on his cigarette and took a sip of his coffee.

"I have already sent orders for her to be here; with Shingami-sama out of the picture we need someone who can take charge which leads me to my next issue." Sid said as he nodded to Wes to turn on the projector. Security camera footage of Shinigami-sama's breakout with the infected students rolled on screen.

"At approximately 11:45 PM Pacific time there was an escape from the treatment facility." Wes said. "So far we have no sign of the six infected individuals. At last count their black blood levels were over fifty percent. Knowing the nature of black blood we can expect this count to go back up to one hundred percent within the next hour." The footage ended as Wes turned to the team. "I suggest putting all of Death City on alert." He said as he sat down and folded his hands.

"What about Medusa? Any sign of her?" Stein said. Wes looked at him.

"Now we are dealing with tricky territory here. You see Neural GPS is not like a Tomtom or a Garmin. The technology used to run these things picks up electrical signals from the human brain and transmits them on a map. Generally I can pick up any kind of person using the system developed by the CIA. Medusa however is not showing up because she is not using her own brain. Therefore if we knew whose brainwaves she was using we could find her." Wes said.

"What about our records here at the academy, Is there any person suffering from dissociative identity disorder?" Stein said. Marie fumbled through her papers.

"One, actually, that would be Dr. Patricia Morrison, formerly of Zanesville Ohio. She was the nurse before Justin. "She said.

"Then it's settled, if we can tune into Morrison we might have Medusa. Let's get to work, we have little time." Stein said and closed the meeting.

Steven sat in the bookstore's office thumbing through order forms and inventory. He had Lady GaGa's "Alejandro" playing on his iPod speakers and was looking through the invoice from Eraserhead Press when his phone rang. Turing GaGa down to a whisper he picked up the phone.

"Good afternoon, Shroyer and James Booksellers, Death City's number one independent bookstore since 2008, this is Steven? "He said. The voice on the other was unfamiliar.

"Listen very closely bookworm, continue aiding those two dipshits and I will personally see to it that you won't live to see 2011." The voice said.

"You're real tough hiding behind those god damn telephones, why don't you come to the store and see me, asshole." Steven said.

"I have special plans for this world, Soul Evans is a part of that plan, don't fuck with me or else I will not hesitate to end you and your pathetic friend too." The voice said.

"Matt is that you? Damn it; are you still mad because I left Kent before you? Get over it buddy." Steven said it was then he noticed Lance standing in front of the office door.

"Steve, we got a really freaky customer here, might be a tweaker." Lance said. Steven looked at him.

"God damn meth heads! I got to go Matt, call me when you want to be serious." He said and hung up.

"He, she, or futa, what are we dealing with?" Steven said as he walked from the back office. Usually he saw all kinds of weirdos from the area come in here. The area used to be a big meth dealing area for a local gang when the new mayor and his war on crime came around. Within months, the area became a shopping district. Every so often though, the occasional meth head would come in thinking he could score some ice. The shop Steven owned was a former meth house and took him almost one hundred thousand dollars to clean up and flip, and still, even though it said bookstore, the tweakers would come. This tweaker was not your ordinary tweaker. It looked almost like it would fall into the category of an "it" what Steven referred incorrectly by the Japanese term "Futa" with its lavender hair and the bags under its eyes. It looked like it could be both boy and girl.

"Hey tweaky, sorry to break this to ya but we don't sell meth here. You might want to go up state somewhere, we're a bookstore." Steven said. The thing stood there, Steven grew frustrated. "Listen you shriveled piece of shit, get the fuck out of my store or else I will call the cops!" he shouted.

"Hey, do you know, my blood is black." The voice had no specific gender but was more feminine. Steven threw up his hands.

"Very nice, now get the fuck out!" He shouted. The thing spoke again.

"You are going to kill someone, someone you care about." The thing said. Steven smirked.

"Okay genius who am I going to kill?" he said. The thing pointed to Lance. "You're full of shit!" Steven said. The thing spoke.

"He has been stealing money from the register, he thinks you're a terrible writer and a terrible friend." the thing said. Now Steven was pissed.

"Someone shut that cunt's mouth or I'll come over there and fuckstart her head!" He shouted. Just then a large black mass came out of the things back.

"Just kill him already Crona!" Ragnarok shouted. Suddenly the black mass turned into a gigantic sword. The sword slammed into the front window before nearly slicing Steven in half. Jumping out of the way he went to the back of the counter and grabbed his 44 magnum and fired squarely at Crona's head. The bullet connected, however the thing was stunned. Black blood streamed down her forehead. As she fell Steven walked over to the body and stared at it.

"Good lord almighty what is going on here?" he said just then he heard a voice.

"Shinigami noggin chop!" Shinigami-sama shouted and slammed his hand down on Steven's head, knocking him out. Lance grabbed the gun and fired but only left holes in the plaster. Shinigami-sama noggin chopped him and let him stay on the floor, dragging Steven's body to Kid's car. Medusa sat there and smiled as the limp bookstore owner lay in her lap.

"Even if Chrona was a failure, this one could be of some use. Kid, you know where to go." Kid put the car in drive and went to their hideout.

Maka felt good sitting on Soul's motorcycle again. The doctor's gave her a clean bill of health and Soul was going to treat Maka to a shopping trip at her favorite bookstore. When they arrived the place was swarmed with police. Soul looked around.

"Not cool!" He whispered, Maka got of the bike and went over to a nearby ambulance. Mr. James was having his head bandaged.

"Maka, thank god you're here. Some skull masked guy took Steve, and some sort of freaky woman came in and trashed the store. Maka could feel the remnants of Crona's wavelength and a dark one that was unfamiliar.

"We have to find Shinigami-sama!" Maka said. Just then a female voice spoke behind her.

"I'm afraid he has gone rogue, dear." it said. Maka turned around.

"Mom!"

_TBC_


	14. Day 6 part 2

30 Days

Day 6 part 2

_For Spawnspectre- the writer who will one day surpass the gods themselves_

_Author's note: As I always do for this story I want to warn people about the content. If you are offended by graphic imagery and other controversial things please stop now. This chapter does contain something unusual that may not be for everyone, reader discretion is advised._

The sting of the needle is what he felt first, then the fear. Steve sat in the warehouse tied to a rickety wooden chair. The scent of damp, musty concrete filled his nose as he looked around for the source of the jab.

"Good, you're awake my little guinea pig." Medusa said; draped in a black cloak and nothing else, the curves of her chest were lit by a single overhead light swinging from the ceiling.

"What did you just do? Where the fuck did you take me?" Steve said as he groggily shook himself awake. Medusa smiled.

"You are interfering with my work here. I think it's only probable that you help me in my quest for power. By the way, if you start going mad let me know. I want to watch!" Medusa said and walked out. She was talking to a girl he vaguely remembered in the doorway, Steve strained his ears to hear but couldn't make any words out. It was then the lights went out and the door slammed shut.

"Hey, hey let me the fuck out of here!" Steve shouted. The chair's legs gave way slamming him to the floor his head smacking the concrete with a soft slapping sound. His vision became blurry, but he could make out the large, furry and eight legged thing coming towards him. Steven screamed. The Tarantula made its way to his face, its furry legs making their way up on to his cheek before moving down his body. Steven closed his eyes he couldn't escape the sound of the army coming towards him. Wave after wave of the fuzzy arachnids crawled all over his body, their legs tingling on his skin. "Get them off me!" Steven screamed. He could see through the lids of his closed eyes the light turning back on and the nervous whimper of a girl.

"I am sorry, I am so sorry," Crona said, her voice choked with sobs, "I only did what mother asked. I hate her so much! Why does she make me do these things, why?" Steven opened his eyes and stared at the lavender haired girl kneeling next to him.

"Help me and I can get you out of here, I know people in Death City, powerful people, people that could send that bitch to prison for life. I can be your friend; you look like you need one too." Steven said. Crona smiled and looked at Steve

"You'd do that? I have never had someone take care of me before, my mother is such a horrible woman!" she said. Going to Steve's rear she began untying the ropes that bound him to what was left of the chair. Suddenly, an angry voice came from the doorway.

"Crona, what are you doing!" Medusa shouted. Crona froze in fear, her voice tittered.

"I was helping him mother, he sounded so afraid and I," Medusa slapped Chrona before she could finish. She let out an anguished cry. Medusa looked at her.

"It's time to take your medicine Crona! Mother is going to have to give you a shot again!" Medusa said picking her up and tossing her on the floor like a rag doll. Medusa ripped Crona's dress off and let her cape fall off her own body. Crona screamed.

"Please mother, not the shot, I'll be good I promise!" Crona said. Steve looked at the woman; she wasn't half bad looking, someone he would probably screw and leave without ever calling again. It was then he saw the tube of flesh rise from between her legs. Steve gagged; this chick was a futa, something he'd only seen in Hentai! He proceeded to retch up his lunch just as Medusa penetrated the rear end of Crona. Closing his eyes wouldn't help; he could still hear the screams. Clasping his hands he began to recite the Lord's Prayer.

Kami Jacobs sat in the living room of Maka and Soul's apartment, sipping a cup of green tea with honey and a touch of lemon. Maka looked at her mother; she noticed how similar they looked. Blond hair, green eyes, slim frame, her chest was larger than Maka's. Soul sipped his Vanilla Coke and tried to break the awkward tension.

"So Miss Albarn," Soul said, Kami stopped him.

"It's no longer Albarn, Soul. I changed my name after I caught that bastard fucking that bat witch in our bed ten years ago. Call me Kami okay?" She said. Soul continued.

"So Kami, what brings you to Death City after all these years?" Soul said. Kami set down her tea.

"I'll be blunt with both of you, DWMA is under siege. Shinigami-sama has gone rogue, five students are infected with black blood to almost pre-kishen levels, and Medusa is on the loose. Since there is no one in command now, I have been charged with leading the team that is trying to hunt Medusa down and end this." She said.

"What do you mean by Shinigami-sama going rogue?" Soul said. Kami clasped her hands and looked at him.

"He has suffered a black blood infection, plain and simple. He has put this whole academy in jeopardy, and if we don't find him we will all surely be lost. By the way Soul, have you noticed anything different about yourself recently?" Kami said. Soul nodded.

"No nightmares or black blood nose bleeds if that's what you're talking about." Soul said. Kami pulled out a device, similar to a blood glucose meter and a lancet gun.

"Hold out your middle finger Soul." Kami said. Soul obliged and hissed as the gun clicked and the lancet stung him. Kami pressed his finger to the test strip and watched the meter. Smiling she turned it over. "Just as I thought, Stein would never steer me wrong." Kami said. It read all zeros.

"No more black blood?" Soul said. Kami nodded.

"Your love of Maka has eliminated it. Love is a powerful thing, something evil can't win against. Remember that." Kami said and set her cup down. "I have to go to a meeting," She sat down a card, "Here is where I am staying and both my numbers. Call me if anything strange happens." Kami said. Maka got up and walked her mother to the door.

"You don't know how much I missed you." Maka said hugging her mother close to her, smelling the familiar perfume she always wore.

"I never left you Maka." Kami said, and kissed Maka on the cheek. Maka walked inside, she it was 8pm and she had homework, although not a lot of it, to do.

Steve felt the tingling in his hand first, then the bolt of pain. Something was wrong with his right hand. Pulling free of his bonds he looked around the room. Crona was lying on the cold concrete floor, soft sobs coming from her. Steve walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, I'm going to get you out of here." he said. Crona looked at him, her eyes rimmed red with tears.

"God bless you, whoever you are." Crona said and hugged him, her tears soaking his shirt.

"He has, and he has also blessed you." Steve said and helped her up. It was then he looked at his hand. The flesh and bone had warped somehow, making it look like a handgun. Squeezing his fist, he watched as a bolt of energy flew out of his fingertips and blew a hole in the wall. Walking outside they could hear Medusa shout.

"He's getting away!" She said. Kid raced in with Liz and Patty in his hands and fired wildly. Steve squeezed his fist tighter causing a huge ball to erupt from his new weapon. Kid was slammed on the floor his head cracking on the cement. Medusa called for Tsubaki and Black Star but they were too busy making out to pay attention. Steve raced through the darkness until he found an abandoned house and jimmied the door open. Racing with Crona up the stairs he made his way to a bedroom. There lay a mattress on the floor. He sat down with Crona, and looked up at the ceiling, then the closed their eyes and waited for morning to come.

Maka was alone in her bed, trying to sleep. There was a "Top Gear" marathon on and Soul decided to forgo sleep to watch all three hours. It was then Maka felt a presence lying in her bed.

"Soul?" She said her voice muted with sleep. She opened her eyes and saw her. Medusa was next to her.

"Maka my beloved, how I have desired you." She said and kissed her deeply on the lips. Maka wanted to resist but something was making her go along. She let her tongue explore the witch's mouth. Medusa broke the kiss and moved down to Maka's breasts, softly caressing them with her tongue, making the girl shudder. "Do you want it?" Medusa said. Maka gasped.

"Yes Medusa my mistress, please make me yours." Maka said and felt the pressure between her legs as Medusa made her way inside with her member. Maka moaned, it was bigger than Soul's, and Medusa was an expert at this for sure. Medusa kissed Maka again, stifling her moans and letting her forked tongue dance inside the girl's mouth. It wasn't long before Maka reached her peak, as did Medusa, their moans louder than the engines on the TV. Maka lay there, she touched Medusa stopping her.

"Don't, I want to fall asleep with you inside of me." She said and rolled over holding the snake witch in her arms. It was then Soul walked in. Bolting awake and opening her eyes Maka looked around, and saw nothing beside her, she felt a sensation in her loins but what was it. Assuming it was a dream she closed her eyes. Maka had no idea what was going to happen. The morning always brings new surprises.

_TBC_


	15. Day 7

30 Days

Day 7

_For all my readers- God bless_

_Authors note- Same stuff different chapter, read at your own risk._

The sunlight streamed in through the boards that covered the windows of the abandoned house. Morning had broken in Death City, and Black Star and Tsubaki were inspecting the house, looking for someone.

"No one here, she said someone would be though?" Black Star said, staring at the mattress on the floor. Indeed someone had been there, two people on the run from their mistress. The creak of the stairs startled them out of their search.

"That could be them?" Tsubaki said as she walked toward the doorway and moved down the hall. Black Star's shoes made soft thuds on the floor.

"Show yourself!" Black Star said, it was then he felt the shock of the stun gun against his neck. Tsubaki raced over to him.

"Black Star!" She shouted and tried to rouse him; Kami smirked and applied the shock to the weapon's neck. She pressed the button on her commlink.

"Two down three to go, corner of White and Lee, an abandoned house." Kami said and walked out, Turning on the Neural GPS to find Kid, all signs pointed to the bookstore.

"You sure we don't owe you anything Brian?" Lance said as the frizzy blond haired man put the finishing touches on the repairs.

"I know Steve; I wouldn't do this on such short notice if I didn't, besides what are friends for anyway?" Brian said and walked over to his truck. Waving, he slammed the door and drove off. Lance walked inside and surveyed the store. The damage was minimal; he fixed it all in one night and had Brian repair the window early this morning. He was more concerned with where Steve was. Those people were odd, very odd. How they fit in the grand scheme of things that had occurred recently in Death City was a mystery. Picking up the newspaper he looked at the front page. The Death City PD had put out a "Be on the lookout" order for Shinigami-sama and a woman only known as Medusa. The paper also made mention of a suicide in an apartment not too far from the academy. The school nurse had hung himself instead of face the accusations that he had injected the five students with black blood. It was then he heard the bell ring on the door, he had forgotten to lock it.

"Sorry we're closed, don't open till nine." Lance said and looked up from the paper, there was Steve, and his right hand tucked in his pants side pocket, next to him was the supposed tweaker from the day before. "Jesus, what happened to you?" Lance said as he rushed over to Steve.

"Nothing, nothing, get me some coffee." Steve said. Lance looked at him.

"What happened to your hand?" he said.

"Fuck my hand! Get me some damn coffee!" Steve said and walked over to his office. He sat Crona down in a plush chair. "You stay here, I am going to make some phone calls." he said and walked outside. Lance handed him his Phantom of the Opera mug, the aroma of coffee made him feel whole. Sitting at the counter he pulled his right hand out of his pocket.

"Good lord in heaven! How did that happen?" Lance said. Steve rotated his wrist and looked at his malformed hand.

"God only knows Lance. Has anyone from Shibusen called?" Steve said sipping his coffee.

"No, not that I know of, paper's been full of stories about this whole mess though. Damn school nurse killed himself last night." Lance said. Steve chuckled.

"Should have known someone would do that, do you have Shibusen's number?" Lance pulled out a rolling file of numbers.

"559-2456, that's local so no area code of course." Lance said. Steven picked up the phone with his good hand. Using the barrel of the gun that was his hand he dialed the number. It rang only once before someone picked up.

"Shibusen Academy, how may I direct your call?" A pleasant voice said.

"I would like to talk to someone about the crisis at your academy, I need some help." Steve said.

"I'm sorry, that information is closed to the public." she said.

"You don't understand, lady, I got a gun for a hand and a scared girl who was raped by her mother. I need to speak to someone now!" he said. The woman gasped and the phone clicked and hummed for a second before someone answered.

"This is the Kishen task force. With whom am I speaking?" Spirit said.

"Steven R. Shroyer, I am a bookstore owner here. Listen I need to see someone at ya'lls place because my hand is fucked up and I got one scared little girl here." the bookseller said.

"Were you injected with anything?" the death scythe said.

"I have no clue, I know I got a shot and saw some big fucking spiders. Next thing I know my hand looks like something out of a David Cronenberg film. Can ya help?" Steve said. Spirit looked at the tracker on the screen, Kami was on her way.

"I'll send a message to one of our scouts that are en route. Stay calm." Spirit said. Steve hung up the phone and sat back. Looking out the window he saw a young man and two girls dressed in cowboy hats and red halter tops.

"Aw piss! Lance, you handle them." Steve said and watched as they walked over to the door. Steve raced over to his office and slammed the door.

"Can I help you folks?" Lance said. Kid fell to the floor and began to cry.

"This store, it's not symmetrical! I'm a failure!" Kid said. Liz sighed and pulled out a picture of Crona.

"Seen this girl around Blondie?" She said. Lance shook his head.

"Can't say that I have, you might want to go to the police department." He said. Liz smirked.

"Patty, tear this fucking place apart!" She shouted. Patty tipped her cowboy hat and began to pull books off the shelves.

"Miss, I am going to have to ask you to stop and leave the store." Lance said. Patty continued. "Listen you little cunt, the co owner of this store is going to kick your ass if you don't stop!" he shouted. Steve poked his head out from the back.

"Shit!" He said. They were trashing his store. He decided to take the matter into his own hands. As he was walking out, he noticed the black Lincoln sitting outside and the blond haired woman walking into the store.

"In the name of sanity, I command you to stop!" Kami shouted. The girl continued, she looked over at the blond clerk. "Cover your nose and mouth and tell your friends back there to do the same. " She shouted and fired off a gas grenade. The air became thick with the sleeping gas. Lance, Steve, and Crona were covering themselves in the office. Kami waded through the sea of books and checked the meister and his weapon's pulse.

"Bookstore clear, turning on ion remover." Kami said and turned on the small vacuum like device. "Mr. Shroyer? You can come out now, bring the girl too." Steven looked at Lance.

"I can handle things here, just don't do anything stupid." Lance said and watched as Steven and Crona walked out.

"Mr. Shroyer? Kami Jacobs, Shibusen scythe meister and crisis team member. If you and this girl could come with me, I have some people coming for these bodies." She said. Crona looked at Steve. Giving her a nod, she followed him to the car, and got inside.

Maka awoke to find Soul not in her bed. The scent of bacon and pancakes was wafting from the kitchen. Through the din of the food, she could hear the hard rock station playing a Rammstein song about how the lead singer couldn't get laid in Germany. Maka looked around, she had dreamed of Medusa again. It was more explicit than before, somehow she felt violated yet pleased at the same time. Maka stepped in the shower, and cleansed herself before slipping on her usual attire. Soul smiled as she walked in.

"Hey there, how did you sleep last night?" He said setting a plate of bacon and pancakes in front of her. Maka yawned.

"I had a dream, where I made love to a futa last night." Maka said. Soul choked on his orange juice. He sat it on the table and wiped the dribble off his chin.

"No shit?" Soul said. Maka nodded.

"The funny thing was, I enjoyed it. " Maka said. Soul walked over and kissed her cheek.

"You have some strange dreams." He said and got himself another plateful. It was then Maka felt herself get lightheaded. Sweat beaded on her brow.

"Soul, I think I am going to lie down. Something's…" She slumped in her chair. Soul looked at her, and raced over to the table.

"Maka? Maka!" He shouted, it was then he saw the black blood dribble out of her nose. Hefting her body over his shoulder he took the stairs to the first floor and went to the student entrance to the academy.

"Crona will be fine Mr. Shroyer. We are going to perform a procedure actually remove Ragnarok from her." Stein said as he put the intravenous drip line into Steve's arm. He was giving him some black blood eraser, similar to what the five students were on now. This one however did not require the patient to be asleep. Stein began to cut into Steve's hand. "The black blood has rerouted your bones and muscle structure. Luckily I have studied the human body enough to fix this problem." He said draining the black blood that surrounded the incision and clamping the vein shut. Stein then began the intricate process of cutting muscle and tendon to form a regular hand.

"Ya know doc," Steve said, "I had one hell of a dream last night. You know that Albarn girl? She and two other girls were being plooked by some tentacle thing. Weird huh?" Stein rerouted the last bone and smiled.

"I have always admired dreams. The operation is finished." he said. Steve looked at his hand as Stein bandaged it.

"That quick, damn you're good!" Steve said. Stein smiled.

"I have a proposition for you?" The doctor said.

"Lay it on me screw head." Steve said.

"I would like you to join our team as an advisor; you would give us details on the outside world and maybe even help us catch Medusa. How does that sound?"  
Steve smiled. "Hell yeah, I want to catch that bitch as much as you do. If you saw what I saw you would be as pissed as I am." Just then Marie entered the room.

"Stein dear? Soul Evans is here, she's infected. "She said nonchalantly. Stein raced to the waiting room to find Soul clutching an unconscious Maka, black blood streaming from her nose.

"Get her to Ward B, stat!" He shouted. Stein and soul raced down the hall to the ward hoping it wasn't too late. Marie on the other hand had decided she would take a nap on one of the waiting room's comfy couches; she set her alarm for an hour.

Maka woke in a torch lit room, cold, damp brick danced against her back. She could feel her bonds against her. In the flickering light she saw her two other captives, Tsubaki and Marie. In the front of the room sat three golden thrones. In the largest throne was Asura, on his right, Shinigami-sama, and on his left, Medusa.

"Medusa, commence tonight's entertainment!" Asura said. Medusa smirked and flicked her wrist. Snakes grew out of her fingers, their long tentacle like bodies moving towards the girls.

"No, please!" Tsubaki said, and then let out a scream of both pain and pleasure as the snake made its way up her female part. Maka watched; she was getting turned on. Marie wanted to scream but the snake plugged her mouth. Its slickness felt almost like a comfort as she rolled her tongue around it. Another snake made its way to Tsubaki's backside.

"No, I'm still a virgin there!" She shouted and let out a howl of pain as it made its way inside.

A snake made its way towards Maka; she welcomed it unconsciously into her body, letting the snake make it feel comfy in her openings. Maka felt such pleasure, never before had she felt this way. The other girls were starting to submit to their will. Asura laughed, as the girls reached their peak with the snakes in them, their moans muffled. Medusa willed the snakes back to her and subliminally unlocked the girls bonds. The girls were laughing nervously; they made their way to Asura and lay at his feet. "Master?" Maka said. The girls looked at him. He had broken them.

Marie bolted awake with a scream, looking around she saw no snakes or thrones. "It was a dream. Why the hell did I dream that?" She said and walked to the conference room.

Medusa sat on her bed, the phone next to her ear. " I don't give a shit," She shouted, "I paid you guys a large sum to infiltrate Shibusen and your equipment is fucking up royally!" She flicked Shinigami-sama his image was flickering. "I'll pay you an extra two hundred large if you fix it. Okay good, then get to it!" She shouted and hung up. Of course Shinigami-sama wouldn't go rogue, everyone knew it. As she turned on her security camera footage she looked at her torture chamber. Her werewolf lover, Free had arrived the today. He was using a acetylene torch to singe Shinigami-sama's mask. The death god looked thin. He was weak, putting up no resistance. Soon Asura's plan would take effect, Soul would be infected again, Maka would be hers, and soon she would have herself a Kishen, if those techies at Shibusen would get their act together.

_TBC_


	16. Day 7 Part 2

30 Days

Day 7 Part 2

_For Spawnspectre and the legions of fans that read this story, God Bless-Steve_

_Author's note: Once again, I must stress the content of this story is not suitable for minors and I do not own any of the characters herein except for OC's._

"Why would you do that? That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard of!" Ragnarok said as he shook his white gloved fists in the air. Steve stood there with his arms crossed one foot against the door; this was going to be difficult.

"We'd just think that Crona would be better off having you inside of her. We can give you a separate form, and you'd be able to live a normal life as weapon." Stein said although his mind was far from the girl in front of him. Maka Albarn had come down with black blood, and so far the treatment was slow going. Spirt Albarn was going to throw a shit fit over this one. Ragnarok shook tapped his bald ink black head and then spoke.

"Can I look like a Mexican Wrestler? I always admired those guys!" he said, Steve let out a chuckle.

"A god damn Luchador, really, are you serious? One of those things I see when I am surfing the Spanish networks out of boredom, you want to be one of those? Hey buddy it's your call!" Steve said drumming his foot against the wall. His hand had healed up nicely, no scars whatsoever. Ragnarok nodded.

"I'll leave Crona if I can be one of them." he said and crossed his arms. Stein shrugged and lit a cigarette.

"We'll work on the process today; I just need to set up the machine. Crona, this will remove the black blood from your system I hope you know that?" Stein said and watched as the tears flowed from the girls eyes.

"Something wrong Crona, hon?" Steve said his voice tinged with a southeastern Ohio drawl.

"I just never met anyone that has been nice to me before!" She said and burst out into sobs. Ragnarok retreated as Steve held the girl close to him.

"This is a different world than what you're used to, people are generally good natured when they want to be. Remember this, Crona; God never closes a door without opening a window." He said and stroked her lavender hair.

"Let's get started shall we?" Stein said. Steve tilted Crona's chin up with his finger.

"It'll be okay, trust me." Steven said and helped Crona off of the examining table. As Stein walked her down the hall Steve, picked up his cell phone and dialed his shop.

"LJ, it's Steve, Do you have the number for Okubo County Children services?" he said and walked down the hall.

Soul sat there next to Maka, watching her small chest rise and fall with each breath. This was hard for him. He began to ruminate on the things that led up to this event, how his friends became infected, how the world was going to change. He did know one thing: Maka was the one who kept him sane, more so than could imagine. He remembered the night they first made love, the day he found out about the blood's return. How gentle he had been with her, remembering the little gasp of pain and pleasure she made as he entered. Her warmth and her softness against him, he began to feel a stirring in his forbidden region, and willed himself to go flaccid for now. There was a time and a place for sex and right now neither was applicable. He opened the book that Mr. Shroyer had got for him from the bookstore, Bryan Smith's "The Killing Kind" and began to read.

Lance James had a secret, that is to say he and his friend Steve had a secret. Kent State had a liquid crystal lab that it was known for as well a 1970 massacre that made them more infamous, but in 2008 they also had a new kind of project. The term Psychocybertronics had not yet entered the national lexicon yet but yet again the project was still taking its baby steps into becoming a part of psychological practices. The idea of using computers that were outfitted with specific internal transmitters that picked up electrical signals from the brain and neurons sounded like science fiction, but Lance had pioneered the system and with Steve's help, developed the drug cocktail that allowed it to function like a well oiled machine. As he walked over to the secret keypad in the bookstore he looked at the server tower standing in the middle of the room. Plugging the cable that ran out of it into his USB port he brought up the Neural GPS program on his laptop. The screen turned a deep blue.

"Search Person" The screen said. Lance typed in, "Medusa Gorgon/Patricia Morrison" into the program, and got a hit on a warehouse on the edge of town He got a telephone number and patched himself into the system, entering in the children services worker's name. Hitting enter he waited for the result.

Medusa was lying in bed, her other part safely tucked away. Free was making his way toward her, his strong body glistening in the candlelight. He kissed her neck and nipped at her ear, making her gasp. He then made his way down to the sensitive part of her, turning into his wolf form, he began to lick and caress her inner thighs, before making his way to the sweet spot in the middle. His tongue ravaged her, her moans echoing throughout the warehouse's metal walls. He then mounted her, snarling in pleasure, his breathing heavy and fast.

"That's it wolf boy! Treat me like I'm your bitch, my alpha wolf!" Medusa moaned. His canine fangs brushed against her neck. Snarling in her ear Medusa felt she would release at any moment. Free let out a howl as he climaxed with Medusa and collapsed on top of her. It was then they heard a female voice from the foot of the bed.

"I'd hate to interrupt this love session, but" The voice said as Medusa looked up, "I'm from Okubo County children services."

"Get the fuck out of here. Where do you get off walking in her e like that you perverted cunt!" Medusa shouted. The woman handed her some papers.

"Just fill these out and I'll be out of your hair." The woman said handing her a pen.

"What kind of papers are these? Relinquish custody of a child, whose child are we talking about?" Medusa said.

"Your daughter Ms. Gorgon, Crona, a businessman here in town wants to adopt her." The woman said. Medusa signed the papers in a flurry and shoved them at the woman.

"Get the fuck outta here, will ya!" Medusa shouted as the woman took the papers and walked out. Medusa didn't know the same technology she used on Shibusen was used on her. As soon as the woman left the room she evaporated and the papers were transmitted to Children Services. By five PM that day Chrona had a father, someone who would care about her.

Crona's procedure had been a success; Ragnarok was now sitting at a table with the other crisis team members, ready to help, while Lance had came and picked Crona up to take her to Steve's apartment. This was odd for some that knew the now blue mask clad, tan skinned form that used to be black and white, because he always wanted to control things. Ragnarok didn't tell anyone that Steve had helped him get over his narcissism by threatening to cut off his newly made balls with a butter knife.

Shinji got up and called the meeting to order and turned on the security camera footage of the five infected finishing their treatment.

"Operation black blood is a partial success, the five previous infected students are almost down to zero and should be there by the end of the day. However there is a problem with Ms. Albarn. It seems her body taking up some resistance to the black blood serum and we have no idea why. We intend to up the dosage." Shinji said. Stein growled then stood up.

"I, as a member of the medical community, cannot allow this to happen. We have no idea what these things can do and how dangerous they could be! I mean Mr. Takinawa with all due respect, I have years of medical training, you're just an assassin for hire with a chip on his shoulder. What could you possibly know about these things?"

"I think you are forgetting one thing here people," Steve said as he looked through Maka's medical record, "Maka has been infected before, 2008 if I am correct, and I think the anti blood serum is only effective on cases within the year. We're talking a two year old infection folks."

"Do you have any suggestions?" Shinji said. Steve nodded.

"I suggest letting her go through the same process Soul went through, it should work." Steve said. Shinji scoffed.

"What does an ecchi bookstore owner know about these things? I bet you just sit at home playing eroge and jerking off to tentacle porn." he said.

"Fuck you ninja boy, I don't have to take your shit. " Steve shouted as Kami stood up.

"I think we should give it a shot, after all, the Stein Report has been verified by the community at large as true." she said.

"See, someone who makes sense, I agree!" Steve said. Shinji Sighed.

"I guess we could do this, I don't know why but I'll go along with you people's bullshit. Stein wake up Maka and end treatment, Meeting adjourned." He said and stormed off.

Steve walked into his apartment to the sounds of 80's synth pop coming from his stereo. Crona sat in the living room Indian style, looking at an 80's compilation CD. The song was "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, and Crona was drumming her fingers and swaying with the music.

"I see someone has found my CD collection?" Steve said. Crona jumped up.

"I'm sorry, I just saw these things and they looked so interesting." Crona said. Steve smiled.

"Has anyone ever taught you how to dance?" He said Crona shook her head. Steve switched the CD. The mash-up of New Order's "Blue Monday" and Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You out Of My Head" played from the speakers. Steve began to shake his hips and, sway to the music.

"Come on; just do what I am doing." Steve said looking at an unsure Crona. She began to move slowly and seductively with the beat of the music almost like a snake. Steve smiled at her, as she lost her inhibitions. "There ya go! Look at you!" he shouted.

"Okay let's try something different." He said and switched CD's as the next song began. Etta James' "At Last" came on, violins and all. Steve wrapped his arms around Crona's waist. "Now just put your hands on my shoulders." he said, and they began to move around the room with the beat of the music. Crona's eyes filled with tears.

"What's wrong hon?" Steve said.

"I never had someone do this with me; I don't even remember my father." She said.

"You can start now, I adopted you today." Steven said. Crona held him closer and began to sob.

"You're wonderful, I don't know how to react." She said through her tears. Steve shut off the CD player as the song ended and smiled.

"How about you get some sleep and tomorrow I'll make you some pancakes." he said. Crona went off to the room Steve had set up for family visits and crawled under the covers. Before she went to sleep she clasped her hands and said a silent prayer for her new father.

_TBC_


	17. Day 8

30 Days

Day 8

_For my fans and closest companions, Happy Halloween and watch out for kishens-Steve_

Crona sat at the table, a Domo-kun T-shirt, and a pair of Khaki shorts was her new outfit as she sat and listened to Steve's satellite radio. It was tuned to the Broadway station; Steve Barton and Sarah Brightman were singing "All I Ask of You" as Steven flipped over a pancake and sat it on the plate.

"You like your new clothes?" Steve asked as he sat a small stack of Pancakes and a paper towel lined plate of Bacon on the table.

"Yes, how did you get all this stuff?" Crona asked as she poured syrup on her pancakes and began to nom on them.

"I had Lance pick this stuff up for me this morning, he knows of a 24 hour mall here in Death City" Steve said as a soft thud came from the door. "I'm coming!" he said turning off the electric griddle. Opening the door, Kami stood there with a briefcase. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and was dressed in a navy blue pinstripe suit.

"Morning Mr. Shroyer, I thought I would just go over a few things before the meeting this afternoon." She said. Steve smiled.

"Please Kami, let's skip the formalities, and call me Steve." He said and welcomed her inside. Crona had finished her pancakes and was currently scarfing down a pile of Bacon. "Crona hon, slow down, you're gonna choke." Crona stopped then finished her last piece of bacon before clasping her hands on her stomach and let out a satisfied burp.

"Excuse me!" She said. Steve just shook his head.

"Could you give me and Kami a few moments alone dear?" Steve said. Crona raced off to her room and put on her IPod. The sounds of New Order's "Blue Monday" filled her ears.

"I have Maka's file here," Kami said as Steve poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down, "there are some things that trouble me." Steve took a sip.

"Like?" He said.

"Like that the waves she was experiencing in REM sleep match the ones from Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. I mean her Alpha waves are off the charts. I asked Wes to see what kind of image he could bring up but he said his program was down." Kami said.

"What program? He doesn't have access to the main server!" Steve said as he sat his coffee down.

"I'm sorry?" Kami asked. Steve went to his shelf in the living room and pulled out a computer science journal.

"This here is what Lance and I worked on for three years. It's called Psychocybertronics, basically its computers that can enter the mind. We worked on this until we both graduated. Currently Lance and I have the only security clearance from the State Department to use it, so how does Evans have it?" Steve said.

"Torrents?" Kami said. Steve shook his head.

"This isn't the sort of thing you can find on The Pirate Bay, this is advance tech, I mean really advanced. This is shit William Gibson only dreamed about." Steve said and walked over to his phone.

"Who ya gonna call?" Kami said.

"Ghostbusters," he said with a smirk "honestly I am calling my research partner." Steve said and got ahold of Lance at the store.

"Lance, we got a bug in the system." Steve said. Lance didn't have to respond, he knew Steve's code words.

Maka lay in her bed. Despite the air conditioner running she felt hot all over. Soul sat next to the bed in in a kitchen chair, it was uncomfortable but it worked. Maka tossed and turned, her blond locks stuck to her forehead in thin snake like tendrils. The black blood hadn't got ahold of her yet, a good thing, in this time of few things to feel good about. He got up and walked to the bathroom to get a glass of water. It was then he heard Maka, her voice small, weak, and frail.

"Soul?" Maka said. Soul crouched next to the bed.

"Yes Maka?" He said. Maka smiled weakly.

"She's coming for us, I can feel her presence. Her wavelength is calling me." She said.

"Who is? Maka, are you okay, who's coming for us?" Soul said. Maka kissed Soul deep and passionate, her tongue exploring his mouth. It was then he felt the Snake crawl into him. Soul gagged and choked, his vision grew blurry, yet he could make out the two women standing over him.

"You did well my pet." Medusa said as Maka knelt down in front of her.

"Thank you my mistress." Maka said and kissed Medusa's feet. Soul tried to fight the evil growing in him. His heart thudded in his chest; his head swam with evil thoughts. Medusa just laughed, Maka still knelt there. As the black blood surged through his veins, he passed out.

"Mistress, I obey." He said his head making a soft thud on the floor.

"Where do you think the bug is coming from?" Lance said. He had just taught Crona how to work the register and she was doing a fine job. Steve and Kami sat in the back office watching Lance type code into a computer.

"Shibusen probably, that's where Kami thinks it is. We think it's Soul Evans' brother, but we have no proof." Steve said. Lance opened the file.

"I am going to type in this EEG code, with any luck we can find out what she was dreaming." Lance said and punched some keys. Lance stared at the computer in shock. "Steve, Miss Jacobs? I think you better look at this?" He said. The two investigators huddled around the monitor. There on the screen was Tsubaki, Marie, and Maka. They were chained to the wall and were being raped by tentacles that had sprung from an unknown source.

"Jesus Christ!" Kami said. Steve shook his head.

"No Kami, I think he has little to do with this. Lance, run an alterna-view on this let's see where those things are coming from." He said. Lance punched a few more keys and the view turned to the source, Medusa. "Good lord, Marie didn't mention this. Lance I need you to run a Neural GPS on that woman." Steve said. Lance brought up the program and entered the witch's name.

"I got a hit, 223 North Skellington." Lance said. Kami's eyes grew wide.

"That's," She started to say before Steve finished, "Maka and Soul's apartment."

Steve had driven his 1965 Dodge Hemi Charger like a bat out of hell, he was lucky the cops didn't catch him. He rushed to the apartment complex's front doors and swung them wide. Kami placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't you think we should have some sort of plan?" She said. Steve concentrated his soul wavelength into a nine millimeter handgun.

"I suggest you have a weapon Kami, I don't think this snake bitch is going to be pleased to see us." He said. Kami pulled reached under her suit jacket and pulled out her own gun. Steve raced up the stairs, swinging the fourth floor door open. Kami followed her gun at the ready. Steve walked slowly now, creeping up on the apartment. He could feel a tingling sensation in his right hand, a sensation that turned into a throbbing pulse of small pricking sensations.

"I'm picking up a witch's wavelength." Kami said. Steve nodded and knocked on the door.

"Maka, Soul, its Mr. Shroyer from the bookstore? Are you okay?" Steve said. The door opened with a creak. Steve grasped the knob and walked in. The apartment was neat looking, almost to a fault. Steve's hand now was aching; deep throbs of pain wracked his hand. He hissed through his clenched teeth, and walked toward the bedroom. "Kami, cover the rest of the apartment." He said. Walking into the bedroom, the scent of soap and sour sweat filled the room. Steve rubbed his nose at the smell, walked toward the closet, and grasped the knob. The knob would not turn, he yanked on it feeling some tug back resistance. It was then he heard a voice.

"Bookstore owner Steven Shroyer, I'll be taking your soul!" Steve turned around and felt the razor sharp scythe slash his chest. Maka had just attacked him. Kami raced in the bedroom and stared at Maka.

"Maka? Honey?" Kami said. Maka growled and leapt towards her mother, slashing wildly. Kami stumbled, tripping over one of Soul's tennis shoes. Falling on her hands Kami tried to get up but felt a presence weighing her down. She looked down and saw four snakes holding her steadfast to the floor.

"Maka, stop!" Kami shouted. It was then Medusa appeared before her.

"Consider this a precursor, Meister. I have your daughter now, and soon I will have more power than ever. Don't try to stop me!" Medusa said and walked towards the door. "Maka, Soul, come now!" she said and watched as the death scythe and his mister walked out of the room, the door slammed behind them. Kami lay there motionless , feeling the snakes hold her. Steve crawled over to the woman, blood streaking the carpet a shade of deep crimson. Closing his eyes the he willed the snakes to go away. Kami got up and held Steve close to her.

"Don't die on me Shroyer!" She shouted. Steve smiled.

"If I survive this, I promise you this: I will take you out for a night on the town. I'm sure Sprit never did that. A pretty woman like you deserves one once in a while." He said and coughed. Kami pulled out her cell phone and dialed Stein's number.

"Franken, Kami. I have a man down at 223 North Skellington, apartment 442, you better bring some people. We got a big mess over here." She said and hung up.

Somewhere at a bookstore in Death City, a girl with lavender hair felt the chill of death crawl up her spine. She looked around, then saw the message on the computer: Say goodbye to your new life daughter dear. Crona stumbled back and crouched down in a corner. Her mother wasn't happy, she had done something to Steve.

_TBC_


	18. Day 8 Part 2

30 days

Day 8 part 2

Lance walked over to the cowering girl near the cash register. Glancing at the screen, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Crona, it's going to be all right, Steve's going to be okay." He said

"He's going to die! She slashed him and now he's going to die!" Crona said shaking her head back and forth her eyes welling with tears.

"Steve's tough, he'll make it, I need to make a phone call and I'll be right back." Lance said and walked back to the office. Thumbing through Steve's address book, he found a name he remembered from the past and dialed it.

Mark was tired; the new novel he was trying to write had been weighing on his mind for days. How would someone like him, a New York Times bestselling novelist make futanari and tentacle rape legitimate for American audiences.

"Mark, dinner is almost ready." His wife Rachel said, the scent of her homemade pizza filled the house. It was then the phone rang.

"Hello?" Mark said.

"Mark, it's Lance James from Kent State, remember, we worked on the Psychocybertronics program in 08."

"Lance, nice to hear from you, it's been a while. What's up?" Mark said saving his rough draft.

"I need you to look up any known hackers in the Death City area, what drugs they are on, and who's behind it. Can you do that?" Lance said.

"Isn't that Steve's field of expertise?" Mark said pushing away the rolling chair from his desk and shutting his office door.

"Steve's in dispose at the moment, he was attacked, physically, no damage to the brain." Lance said. Rachel shouted from the kitchen.

"Mark if you don't come here, your pizza will get cold." She shouted.

"Give me two hours; I'll email you the information. Right now the missus and I need to nom on some Salmon pizza." Mark said.

"I'll hold you to that." Lance said and hung up the phone. Staring at the clock, he wondered how long Steve would be down for the count.  
Soul had never made love to an older woman before. Medusa had entranced him somehow. He kissed her soft skin gently nipping on her nipples and areola, making sure not to sink his shark like teeth in her breast. Moving down to her sex, he licked and caressed it with his tongue, making her moan softly. Maka, tethered to the wall next to the bed, whimpered. She wanted to feel that secret part of Medusa inside of her again.

"Does my little pet want to play?" Medusa said as she let a finger caress under Maka's chin. Maka looked at her pleadingly.

"Please mistress I want to feel you." She said. Medusa undid the latch on her collar and lead Maka to the bed. The male part of Medusa rose staring at the submissive toy she had obtained. Her small breasts and lithe frame stirred her lust. Gently she made her way inside her making Maka moan. Soul placed himself near Maka's mouth, his male part hard as granite. Maka licked it and then took the whole thing in her mouth. Soul gasped, her mouth was soft, and warm. Her tongue danced around it like a snake. Medusa moaned; she was reaching her climax. Soul couldn't stop himself and let torrents of his seed enter her mouth, Maka however did not swallow. Medusa let out a loud moan, and let go inside of Maka. Maka leaned into Soul kissing him, letting his seed enter his mouth. Soul swallowed greedily.

"Tasty, just like a kishen soul." He said giving Maka a shark like grin. Medusa licked some of the residual seed off his chin and smiled.

"My servants, soon this world will be ours." She said. Turning on the TV she watched as Free was torturing Shinigami-sama. The weapon and meister snuggled next to her and watched the show.

The e-mail came at precisely 7:05 pacific time, two hours, from when Lance dialed Mark. The information about the hacker was startling. Indeed, there was one in Shibusen, although his signature was anonymous. He was using a variety of SSRI's Prozac, Lexapro, drugs to induce happiness and wellbeing, Antipsychotics like Risperdal to keep his thoughts focused, and Ativan to keep himself centered in case his mind encountered an anxious event. These drugs when mixed in high doses gave a coma like state, the hacker usually had to be on a stimulant to activate enough neurons to connect with any sort of mental process. This one was on the strongest one of all, Crystal Meth. Meth was notorious amongst hackers for giving them enough neural electric production that they could disrupt any kind of thought. The question was who would want to hack into the school and its staff in general. Lance sat in the office, poring over the documents. It was when Crona knocked on the door he snapped out his haze.

"Ms. Kami called, Steve lost a lot of blood, but he should be fine. She said I am to go to Steve's place and get some clothes, and stay with you." Crona said

"Jennifer and I would love to have you Crona. Let's go, it's almost closing time." He said and shut down the computer.

"Maka did this? My Girl did this?" Spirit said. His clothes reeked of stale perfume from the cheap whores at Cabra's.

"Apparently she's not you're little girl Spirit and if you were half a parent you would know that." Kami said standing outside Steve's room at the hospital.

"Maka would not use Soul in that way, there has to be a rational explanation!" He said.

"Shroyer and his friend studied the Beta waves of the two girls in treatment today. Do you want to know what he found? Maka was being raped by some kind of tentacle thing, and enjoying every minute of it. You know if you'd spend more time with her instead of those goddamn hookers at Chupa Cabra's you'd have a firm grip on the situation." Kami said.

"I wasn't the one gallivanting halfway across the globe. You weren't there for Asura, you weren't there when she first got infected, you missed a shitload of things Kami. You want to look at a bad parent, there's a mirror behind you!" Spirit said. Kami furrowed her brow.

"Maka needs a dad, not a man whore! Now I know why I divorced you in the first place. You're arrogant, selfish, a womanizer, and to top it all off you go to a fucking nightclub instead of being with your daughter!" She said. Then she heard the soft mew of a cat.

"Hi, Death Scythe!" Blair said in a seductive tone.

"Not now, Blair." Spirit said.

"Aren't you gonna tell her?" she said.

"Tell me what?" Kami said. Spirit sighed.

"Kami, Blair and I are getting married in two months." He said. Kami slapped him hard.

"I will not let my daughter grow up with that whore! Where did you find her, at that fucking club you hang out at?" She said. Spirit nodded.

"You know something Spirit, as soon as we locate Maka and Soul and end this whole fucking mess, I am going to my lawyer and going for sole custody. I will not let my daughter grow up in an environment like that! You'll be hearing from him soon." Kami said and walked down the hall to Steve's room.

Steve was on his last pint of blood, of all his years of blood donation he never thought he would actually need it. However, Soul had cut deep, slashing his sternum and nicking his heart. Weakly opening his eyes Steve looked at Kami. Even in the dim hospital light, he could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Wanna talk about it?" Steve said hoarsely.

"My ex-husband, he's, such a goddamn womanizer. Now he's getting married to some big chested cat witch that works at that damn bar! Worse, off, I feel I've let Maka down. I wasn't there for the biggest event of her life." Kami said.

"You did your job, as a meister you had to do what Shinigami-sama said. My question though is do you still love Spirit?" Steve said.

"When we were first together, yes, then I caught him in bed with another woman. It was Marie. He had been two timing me behind my back. This is when Maka was three, how do you explain divorce to a three year old? There will always be a part of me that yearns for those days but the flame is out, gone." Kami said.

"Remember what I said before I came to the hospital? I plan to make good on that promise. Kami, I feel a connection here, call it soul resonance, call it true love but you speak to me somehow. I think I love you." Steve said.

"You mean it?" she said.

"An otaku never lies about love." Steve said. Kami placed her lips on his and gently kissed him.

"How long do I have to wait?" She asked.

"I'll ask the doc, three days tops." Steve said. Kami brushed a lock of brown hair from his forehead.

"I'll be waiting." She said, and walked out the door.

It was 9:30 Pacific time when Lance was roused out of bed by a phone call from Mark.

"I got the signature, I cracked his code!" Mark said. Lance yawned.

"What signature, are we talking about the hacker?" He said.

"Yes, it's someone very close to the people involved." Mark said.

"Who is it?" Lance asked.

"Wes Evans. Get this, he owes several concert promoters over two hundred million for canceled concerts. He would show up high on Ice to the point of near overdose. He just got paid three billion dollars though to do a job at Shibusen."

"How does Takinawa have that kind of money?" Lance said.

"That's the big thing I have to tell you. Shinji Takinawa died with the rest of the Star Clan I ran the spirit profile beta. His name is Asura." Mark said. Lance sat there silent. He needed to tell someone and soon.

_TBC_


	19. Day 9

30 days

Day 9

"How long will you be gone?" Rachel asked Mark as he packed his bags and filled his satchel with complicated software.

"I don't know, two, three weeks?" He said as he put some toiletries in a suitcase.

"Mark, tell me what's going on? You spent two hours on the computer tonight and now you're gallivanting off to some burg in Nevada." She said as he put her hand on his shoulder.

"It has to do with something I worked on in 08, a computer program. I can't really explain it without doing some form of demonstration." Mark said as he heard the taxi honk its horn two short bleeps. "Rachel, trust me it's better if you didn't know." He said and gave her a kiss. Walking out the door, Rachel wondered what had gotten into her husband's head.

Steve sat up in the bed, his blood transfusion done, and in three more days, he would treat Kami to the night of her life. Right now, he was pouring over the data Mark had sent Lance.

"I thought the spirit tracker was still in beta testing?" Steve said looking at the gigantic red circle on the page.

"It still is, Steve, Mark just found a way to perfect it. You know that was the only thing we had that screwed us up." Lance said. He was right. Psychocybertronics was fast on its way to becoming a new method of treatment, but the scientific community at Kent shut the project down in the middle of a beta test. According to Lester Lefton in a note written to the lab, the university could no longer put money behind something without solid scientific proof. Had they known how close they were to proving the existence of spirits, souls, and the like, he would have shut his mouth and focused on the kids who only came to home games to get shitfaced. Now sitting in his hospital bed, Steve looked at the soul photograph. "One-hundred percent Kishen, goddamn, and he got this from the Midwest?" he said.

"Asura's wavelength is quite powerful, Shibusen was meant to keep it contained and it works quite well I might add. That being said, I think Mark has developed the software quite considerably, maybe enough to get it out of beta?" Lance said.

"Lance, if he continued work on this thing Kent would throw a shit fit. We signed forms saying we removed all software and equipment. What we are doing here is vital to the academy's investigations. We let one thing slip, and we're fucked. Got it?" Steve said sipping a small plastic cup of Orange Juice. "Can you believe this fucking hospital? I can't even get some decent fucking toast here." He said and thumbed through more reports.

"It also shows Medusa impregnated Maka Albarn with something. What I'm not sure?" Lance said as Steve looked at the photography taken from inside the warehouse.

"Don't tell me you did a neural cam on Maka." Steve said, glancing at her and Soul's ménage a trois with Medusa. "Lance, I'd hide these from Jennifer if I were you. If she saw it she'd think it would be futanari porn and go apeshit." He said.

"I just printed and deleted them, no trace whatsoever." Lance said. Steve looked at the intra-soul scan on Maka, it made his eyes grow wide.

"Lance, did you take a good look at the intra-soul?" He said turning the picture around and showing him his results. "There are two souls here, one kishen, and the other grigori. Maka's soul is a grigori soul. I have a theory. "Steve said. Lance sat next to Steve, "Let us say, hypothetically, that Maka is going to be a kishen. She has a pre-kishen soul in her, and her original one is slowly diminishing in size. Now if we go on the theory that humans are rational actors, rationally Maka would chose something in her best interest, what she'd benefit most out of you know?" Steve said.

"Where are you going with this Steve?" Lance asked. Steve went on.

"Pre-kishen souls usually grow exponentially, mostly at a rate of 1.35 spirit grams per day. This reading is showing a pre-kishen growth level at .0009 sprit grams per day. That's a vastly small amount. Something is keeping the kishen out. What, I can't say but Maka is winning the battle, we just need to find out how?" Steve said. Lance looked at him.

"Mark is taking the first flight out to Las Vegas. I will see what he can do." Lance said.

"You better! I got three more days in this shit hole unless the doctors give me a clean bill, and until that time, I can't use our devices or software, unless some little girl's family wants to see a futanari instead of her MRI?" Steve said with a smirk. Lance gave him a wave and walked out the door.

Flight 11-13 landed in Las Vegas just in time, Mark could have sworn the old woman beside him was looking at the bishojo game he was playing to pass the time. A man greeted him at the gate with blond hair tied in a small ponytail and a soul patch.

"Nice to see ya again Mark, how's the novel business treating you?" Lance said as they walked towards lance's Toyota.

"Hard as hell, I can't imagine how many times I have had to justify 'against the will' to some feminist on a talking head show!" Mark said.

"Beck gave you one hell of an ass fuck and he didn't use any lube either." Lance said.

"Glen Beck can go fuck Ronald Regan's rotting corpse for all I care. Right now I want to get some details." Mark said. Lance handed him a folder, inside was the same stuff he showed Steve at the hospital.

"Clashing soul wavelengths horrifically slow kishen growth, and hello what do we have here?" Mark said pulling out a photo. In it was a girl cowering where Maka had been chained up before. It looked exactly like her. "Did you notice this ghosting before?" Mark said. Lance made a left turn towards the exit to Death City.

"Ghosting?" Lance said.

"It's a spirit phenomenon I did some work on while we were at Kent. If you take a photo from a neural spy cam, and there is an alternate form of that person present, it will show up. It looks like the other Miss Albarn is scared shitless."

"Steve has the same photos, maybe you should call him?" Lance said, and gave Mark the hospital room number. Maybe Steve did have a point.

"Goddamn it Wes I can't give you any more of this shit. The last time I gave you too much your electric field nearly blew the Shinigami projection!" Shinji said sitting in the defense comp lab. Wes tried to grab the one-gallon Ziploc like a baby grasping for an out of reach toy.

"Come on, one more hit, then I'll hack big time I promise." Wes said, his pupils were huge, the side effect of meth.

"Wes we need to focus here, Shroyer and his Kent friends are on our ass and each day they get closer! We need to find a way to eliminate them and get our plan moving." Shinji said.

"Asura, master," Wes said before Shinji slapped him in the face. The concealer makeup rubbed off showing one of his many meth sores.

"Shinji, damn it, call me Shinji! If this place is bugged I don't want any suspicion!" Shinji said and turned began to leave, meth in hand. "You'll get this once you dispose of the Lone Flashmen out there." He said. Wes sat there fidgeting; today he was tweaking bad and needed a fix soon.

Tsubaki lay in her own bed for the first time in five days. She shuddered at the memories of the debauched love making she and her other fellow possessed had engaged it. Black Star was in the gym working out as always, the quiet sounds of birds lulled her to a sense of relaxation, and all was right with the world, well almost. Maka was gone, rumors flew that she and Soul slashed the bookstore guy in their apartment and were hiding out somewhere. She wouldn't put it past Maka to attack Mr. Shroyer, after all he did have a section in his store devoted to Yaoi, Hentai, Tentacle porn, and Bishojo games. Yet this would at least illicit a Maka Chop from her. Maka would not dare use Soul for such a purpose, would she? It was then she heard a soft weeping sound come from the bathroom. The sounds of water, sloshing in the tub, confused her. "Patty has her own fucking tub, she better not be using mine." Tsubaki said. Stepping into the bathroom, she saw the pale hunched figure of a girl. Her head was buried underwater, her hands covering her ears. She then realized who it was, Maka. Distinctly through the bathwater, she could make out her cries of "Bastards" that made the tub boil violently. Tsubaki walked up to her and placed her hand on her shoulder, and noticed she was touching the empty air.

"Tsubaki," Other Maka said as she looked up, her hair clung to her face in thin strips, and "Tsubaki help me! You have to go to the hospital, tell Mr. Shroyer that you saw me, tell him that I can be saved!"

"What is going on? Who are you?" Tsubaki said her voice a quivering whisper.

"I am Maka's inner soul, the one that resonates with her beloved. I am in trouble, please hurry!" Other Maka said. Tsubaki scrambled to her feet and put on her sandals. Grabbing the keys to her Ford Focus, she raced out the door and towards the hospital.

"This ghosting is something I have never seen before." Mark said and showed a data table to Steve he had printed out at the bookstore. "The X axis shows the level of wavelength resonance, the Y axis shows the rate of the resonance. The resonance between Maka and the ghosting is exactly the same."

"What we're getting at is that this image and the real Maka are the same?" Steve said.

"Exactly," Mark said, "Normally when there is a ghosting in a photo the wavelengths are off tremendously, here they are perfectly in sync. Add to it the clash points here, "he said pointing to a spike where the two lines met at a sharp angle, "and here. In all my study of this kind of phenomenon this proves to me one thing." He said.

"It's her true self, her conscience, the one that loves Soul." A voice said. Looking at the door the three men saw Tsubaki standing there.

"That's what it means right, Mr. Shroyer?" Tsubaki said.

"Yes, exactly, but how did you know that." Steve said

"Because the other Maka is in my bathtub, and she is scared shitless." She said.

"Can you take us there?" Lance said. Tsubaki nodded.

"You two go figure this out, set up a vid comlink so I can see this. I think we may have a solution." Steve said.

Kami sat in front of her computer, pooling over tables of data. So far Asura's madness had been contained to a point where it was manageable but still something unsettled her. Clicking on various points on the data program she saw a map of Shibusen, there within a few yards of her office was a high level of madness. "What the fuck is this?" She said and right clicked the mark that was inching closer, it was registered as Asura and it was walking towards her door. The knob turned, she spun around and saw the purple clad ninja.

"Shinji?"

"Shinji has been dead for sixteen years babe," Kami backed away, " Give me a kiss!" he said. Shinji forced her mouth over hers, spread her lips open with his long tongue, and began filling her with black blood.

_TBC_


	20. Day 9 Part 2

30 Days

Day 9 Part 2

_For Spawn and Amber, who help me when they can when I'm feeling down._

Kami crawled across the floor, the black blood made her vision blurry; she was seeing things through the static. All of them were of killing the man she knew had to be her soul mate, Steve was in danger she vomited a small pool of the stuff on the lime green floor. Her cellphone rang her ring tone ironic, The Beatles' "Help.

"He, Hello?" Kami said weakly her knees barely keeping her up.

"Kami, it's Steve, you okay, ya sound a bit sick?" he said.

"I need help, Shinji, need help." She said. She coughed up a spot of the blood on a tissue.

"Kami what's going on? What did Shinji do?" Steve said. Kami slumped in her desk phone in hand. Steve tried to get a response but all he could here was a maddening titter of laughter.

"Oh no, god no, Kami answer me!" Steven said frantically. Her laugh grew louder and more madness filled than before. Steve hung up the phone and awaited the comlink to Tsubaki's apartment. If there were something he could do in the interim, he would most definitely try.

Clipping the last wire to the camera, Lance flicked the switch and tuned the comlink's frequency to the perceptionspace around the hospital. Steve's holographic image appeared behind the camera.

"Lance, I need both you and Mark to go to Shibusen and check on Kami." He said, popping a small cup full of pills and taking a gulp of water.

"We just set up this comlink; someone needs to be here to maintain constant contact with the system." Lance said.

"Fuck the goddamn comlink, this is serious. Now either you or Mark, get there now or I will get Lefton's goons on your ass and then we'll be really screwed! According to the link, Shibusen is .8 miles from this apartment so you can run in and run out, if she's okay." Steve said. Lance turned to Mark.

"Go see what the boss wants, then get back here ASAP." Lance said. Mark shrugged and left the room, looking at a neural map to see where to go. "It's all you boss." Lance said and Steve stared at the ghostly form sitting in front of the camera. She looked frail, even wrapped in a towel she looked as if she was going to shatter.

"Maka, if that is what you prefer to be called, I want to ask you a few brief questions, okay?" Steve said. Other Maka nodded.

"Where is your physical form located?" he asked.

"In a house, somewhere near a shopping center. The master is there too." Maka said.

"By master you mean Shinigami-sama? Is he still rogue?" Steve said.

"He is a projection, the real one is near death. " Maka said.

"How are they now, Maka and Soul?" He said

"Depraved, but I am keeping her centered for short bursts of time. Soul has a snake; it could kill him if not removed. "She said.

"Thank you for your time. Lance set up the voice comlink to Shibusen I need to talk to Stein. Also run a wavelength GPS on where this thing is located, focus on shopping centers within a ten mile radius." Steve said and hoped Mark help him with Kami.

Mark walked into Kami's office to find her huddled in a corner, a letter opener clutched to her chest. Kami was going to kill herself.

"Whoa now, just put that down." Mark said.

"It's too late, I'm one of them, just let me die." Kami said.

"No I'm sure Steve can help you, maybe even someone here, just put that thing down." He said. Kami just smiled and thrust the opener into her chest, black blood oozed from the wound. Mark raced over to her making sure not to touch the stuff. "I need an ambulance!" Mark shouted. Stein heard the commotion and rushed in.

"Kami, what the hell happened here?" Stein said as he and Marie ran in."

"She's got the blood, she tried to kill herself, I'm getting a pulse, please help me!" Mark said as Stein picked up her body and raced the 30 yards to the medical center inside. "Get me the highest level of cleanser we got. She's got it bad." Stein said as he looked at the unconscious Kami. "Hold on, for all of our sake." He said and lay her down on the cold metal table.

Maka, the real one, sat in her chambers awaiting Medusa's orders; she could feel the wavelength of her mother fading in and out of her body. Steve was looking over Lance's report of the location of the hideout when the phone rang. After hearing the news, the tears began to flow, dripping all over the papers. Spirit Albarn was in the middle of a meeting when he felt a disturbance within himself and left the room. In the medical center, Kami was stitched up and was going in and out of consciousness the black blood fought against the serum like a Spartan. Visions of death and destruction filled her mind. It was then her vision cleared and she saw her brown haired prince. He was sitting next to her at a table; he was cutting into a sirloin steak while she was enjoying grilled salmon. A gold liquid she assumed was wine was in a glass next to her. They were laughing; his hand was clasped in hers. The scene changed to a theatre, where they were watching a romantic movie, her head on his shoulder. Scene shift again to a nightclub where they were dancing, her cheek next to his, all of this was accompanied by the flash of the words "Fight it" in blood red letters. Stein watched as her black blood count began to drop at an alarming rate.

"How is she doing it?" Stein said as her counter nearly reached all zeros. He saw her lips move; they were mouthing his name, Steve's name.

Crona had The Cure's "Friday I'm in Love" playing over the speakers at the bookstore, it was then she saw the young man with the striped hair walk in.

"Welcome," she said enthusiastically, "How may I help you?" She said. This job had made her break out of her shell substantially.

"I love how you organized the books, so symmetrical "Kid said, as he cocked his head to hear the music. "Is that The Cure?" He said.

"Yeah, I borrowed Mr. Shroyer's iPod Touch and hooked it up to the speakers. You like them?" Crona said.

"I love alternative music. I like Depeche Mode a lot; I saw them a year ago in concert." Kid said. Crona giggled.

"Lucky you, I have never seen any concerts." Crona said and switched the song to "Personal Jesus" Kid laughed.

"I'm here for a book, I was wondering if you have it?" Kid said. Crona smiled.

"I can look, who is the author?" She said.

"D. Harlan Wilson, I believe the book is called 'Stranger on the Loose'? No other book store sells his stuff." He said as the song transitioned to "Hey Jude" and Crona walked up to the bizzaro shelf.

"You're lucky, this is our last copy. We don't get another shipment from Eraserhead Press for a week." She said and handed him the book.

"You're a life saver, how much?" Kid said. Crona scanned the book.

"$ 4.99 that includes tax." Crona said. Kid pulled out a five-dollar bill and handed it to her.

"As anyone told you, you're beautiful?" Kid said to Crona. Her eyes welled up with tears. "Something wrong?" Kid asked.

"No one has ever told me that, in my entire life!" She said.

"I think you're quite beautiful. Tell me, have you ever been on a date before?" He asked. Crona shook her head.

"They're showing the new Disney musical at the theatre and I was wondering if you would want to go with me. Maybe we'll stop at Rosie's Pizza afterward?"

"I would love to!" Crona said her voice a mixture of tears and enthusiasm.

"I'll pick you up at 5 tomorrow?" Kid said. Crona nodded.

"Have a good day!" Crona said.

"It's gotten even better now that I have met you." Kid said and walked outside. For the first time Crona felt like life was going to be better, much better.

"I checked the security scans from Shibusen at the time she was attacked. There is no doubt in my mind that is Asura. "Mark said.

"How did he manage to get in though?" Steve said looking over the records.

"I know. It's because of that Takinawa guy." Mark said, and handed Steven a set of financial records.

"So Evans is our hacker and a tweaker, and we got a Kishen masquerading as a long dead ninja. Does anyone else know about this?" Steve said.

"Only Lance and I. other than that, they are all in the dark." Mark said.

"Did you find the location?" Steve asked.

"Two blocks south of the 24 hour Mall there is an abandoned mansion. We're picking up her wavelength there."

"Send Sid, Mira and Ragnarok out there for a recon. Tell them not to harm anyone unless threatened, especially Maka and Soul. Keep it on the DL we don't want Takinawa to know we're on to him until we can get Maka and Soul back, clear?" Steve said. Mark nodded and called Shibusen. War was at hand; who would win would not be decided on the battlefield but in the mind.


	21. Day 9 Part 3 Day 10

30 Days

End of day 9 and beginning of day 10

_For Spawn and Amber, the two protégé's I can't live without, and Lance, who got me here two years ago-Merry Christmas!_

The cell was a small affair; Maka sat there huddled in a corner fearful of what act she would have to do next. Soul and she were sinking into a life of depravity, something she did not want. Even now watching Soul struggle with the snake inside him, his small grunts and groans of pain, made her want to die. She did not hear the rumbling; the cavalry had arrived and was making its way inside.

Sid taped the comlink on his ear, Mira did the same, and Ragnarok's new, gruff voice came through the speakers.

"Luchador to Romero and Karloff, I am at the front gate right now. The snake is out of the cage, I repeat the snake is out of the cage." Ragnarok said.

"Roger that, Luchador, we are .01 miles to the entrance of the cell. Anyone inside?" Sid said.

"Negative Romero, the house is vacant." Ragnarok said.

"Madarame, can you give us a go, no go for entry?" Sid said. Steve's voice came through the comlink.

"Madarame to Kouga and Minase, give me a map and neural scan." Steve said to Lance and Mark who were feverishly typing on their laptops.

"We're all clear!" Lance said.

"Madarame to recon you are go for entry. May Shinigami-sama be with you!" Steve said as Ragnarok opened the door, Sid, and Mira's heads popped into the dungeon.

Maka leapt in the air as Sid and his weapon popped through the dirt floor.

"Sid, how did you?" Maka asked.

"No, time for questions, "he said jerking his thumb over to Soul's curled form, "Can he move?"

"Not very well, he's losing a lot of energy." Maka said. Sid leapt out of the hole and hefted the scythe over his back.

"Come on, we don't have much time." Sid said and leapt down the hole, Maka followed.

"Madarame, targets acquired, moving back to base." Mira said.

"It's all yours Luchador; bring back the real Shinigami-sama." Steve said.

"Roger that, Madarame, going downstairs now" Ragnarok said, and made his way to the dungeons.

The lighting in the dungeon was just enough to show the slick concrete walls, hanging light bulbs danced small jigs in the stale air. Mold and mildew, perfumed the corridor at the edge of the stairwell. Dripping water accentuated the sounds of his feet sloshing in the small pool of dirty liquid that was the hallway. Flipping a small screen on his gold cuffs, he saw he was right on top of Shinigami-sama's cell. Reaching it, he saw the death god, his mask gone his body no longer the jagged mess it once was. In its place was a frail body, covered in scars from his captives, his golden eyes wide open in terror. His black hair tousled. Ragnarok placed his fingers on the death god's neck, no pulse. Ragnarok looked around and saw a piece of paper on beside the body, picking it up, Ragnarok read it silently. He stopped and scanned for a soul wavelength but came up empty, then went up the stairs. Checking his cuff computer Medusa and Free would not be home for another thirty minutes. It was just enough time for him to book it and give his report.

Shibusen was quiet at night, the only people there were, Stein, Marie and Sprit. Stein was looking over an X-ray of Soul's body, hoping to find a way to pull it out of him before it eventually corrupted him. Marie was thumbing through records of the death of the Star clan, and Spirit was watching his daughter sleep. None would know of what was going on at the hospital as the recon team and the two researchers sat around a small hospital bed discussing plans.

"Here's where we stand: As of right now, midnight, now ten days into this affair, we have seen some dramatic shifts. Our leader has left our world, leaving the head job to his son. Our principle victims, Mr. Evans, and Ms. Albarn, have survived a brush with madness. Yet we are no closer to figuring out what Medusa is planning or what the cause for the return of Soul's affliction is?" Steve said.

"How much do the people at the academy know?" Lance said.

"Not much," Sid said, "By 8 A.M there will be a campus wide announcement of Shinigami-sama's death. No one outside this room knows, not even Spirit or Stein. We're looking at an uncertain future here."

"Has the projection been disabled?" Steve said.

"I put a virus in system at Shibusen. If someone opens the projection then it sends the whole system into lockdown. Nothing in or out, for 24 hours." Lance said.

"Wonderful, now here is the six million dollar question: What is the likelihood that Takinawa will try to take over operations tomorrow?" Steve said.

"We know from a keystroke virus we put on his computer he has a hit list made up. Names include, Spirit Albarn, Kami Jacobson, Franken Stein, Marie Mjolnir, and surprise, surprise, you." Mark said.

"Well, we all knew my number was up when Maka attacked me. Do we know any more about Evans and where he is getting his meth?" Steve said.

"Takinawa has got a guy somewhere in Battle Mountain, that's 70 miles from here, calls himself 'The Chef.' Supposedly, he makes a mean batch of ice; this shit is bad news too. One guy in Carson City decided to shoot up a big syringe full of this shit and his heart muscles got too strained that they tore in half. Guy literally died of a broken heart." Ragnarok said.

"Okay, so we know where he gets his stuff, where does he get his equipment? Us three know Kent State has all of the operating system manuals, we memorized them so we could run programs, how does Evans know how to do it?" Steve said

"Still not entirely sure on that one," Sid said, "Most of Shibusen's staff had knowledge of the different systems, like commlinks, when we visited Kent's archives."

"Why would you do that?" Steve asked. Sid gulped.  
"We were looking for someone." He said

"Who?" Steve said.

"Mark."

Crona sat on her bed in the guest room. She had thumbed through the latest issues of Nintendo Power and Official Playstation Magazine twice. Steve said he was hoping to get a Wii and Playstation 3 with some extra funds he got for promoting Bizzaro-Con Nevada at his store. It was then she heard a tap at her door. Jennifer peeked her head through the door. "Crona, there is a young man to see you, should I let him in? I know it's late." She said. Crona could make out Kid's form in the dimly lit hallway.

"Sure." Crona said as Jennifer waved him over.

"I am going to bed, keep it at a dull roar okay?" She said and walked away from the door. Kid stood there with a bouquet of lily's in his hand, his head low, sheepishly looking at the floor.

"Hi Crona," Kid said, "I got you these. I know it's late but I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"I was bored anyway, sit down." Crona said tapping the bed with her palm.

"I don't really understand what was wrong with me before? I mean I used to think constantly about my two weapons but now my life has been turned upside down. I mean, I never have felt this way before about anyone." Kid said.

"Do you think it's love?" Crona said.

"I am not quite sure. Crona would you do me a favor?" he said.

"Sure, what is it?" Crona asked.

"I want to kiss you. If it really is love then I should know if I kiss you. I know we've just met but still, please?" Kid said.

Crona leaned forward and placed her lips on his. Crona could feel his tongue enter her mouth tasting her, she followed suit. Both of them could feel the warmth between them and their pulses racing. Breaking the kiss gasping for breath together, Kid looked at her and smiled.

"It's love." He said. Crona smiled, tears in her eyes.

"I don't want you to leave me tonight" She said.

"Then I'll hold you till the sun comes up, how's that?" Kid said, laying on the bed.

"I'd love that." She said and lay on the bed, next to him. The scent of his Hugo Boss Cologne would linger on her for days.

Rachel boarded the first plane she could get on, Mark had to know the truth. For years they had been blocking out the memories of their teenage lives but now they had to face facts, a battle was coming. The storm on the horizon couldn't be stopped even with all of god's power. She sat in her seat and watched the sun stream through the cracks of the plane's window shade.

"Attention all passengers we are about to arrive at our destination, please fasten your seat belts." The Pilot said. Within moments she'd get the rental car and drive the twenty minutes to their alma matter, Shibusen, the place where he became a death scythe.

_TBC_


	22. Day 10 part 2

30 Days

Day 10 Part 2

The day had come, a tragic day that would eclipse all feelings of joy at Shibusen. Students sat in their lecture halls nervously tittering with voices of mixed pitch, the word had been spreading, something bad had happened. As professors lowered screens and turned on projectors the students wondered if madness had taken hold.

Death the Kid adjusted his skull collar clasp to symmetrical perfection and stared into the mirror. His father was gone, the man he really had no chance to know had died, his body now interred in some dank basement where an evil entity was living. Steve placed his hand on Kid's shoulder.

"You gonna be okay?" Steve said. Kid nodded silently. "I'm here for ya Kid, anything you need just ask kay?" Steve said and walked away. Marie poked her head through the door.

"They're waiting for you." She said. Kid took a deep breath and walked towards the door prepared for what was next.

In those classrooms where the lights were dimmed a familiar face appeared on the screens, one of a fellow classmate. Standing at the lectern, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Fellow Students of Shibusen Academy," Kid began, "There comes a time when the world of flesh must be left for one of the spirit. I am here to inform you all that as of nine PM last evening, our beloved leader, my father; Shinigami-sama has passed from this realm. Shed no tears for him, for he lived a very long and productive life. As of today, per my father's wishes, I am taking control as headmaster of this school and continuing his work. With all the talk of madness and the return of old enemies, my job will not be easy. However, I assure you, things will remain as is here at the academy. I would now like you all to give your attention to Mr. Steven R. Shroyer. Mr. Shroyer is a member of the kishen task force here at the academy and has some information to share with you all." Kid turned and As Steve stepped in front of the cameras.

"Good morning, my name is Steve Shroyer, owner of Shroyer and James Booksellers and also a member of the newly formed Kishen Task Force. I am here to announce there is a warrant out for the arrest of Shinji Takinawa, and Wesley David Evans, for crimes against the students of Shibusen and the people of Death City. Here is a picture of the two men as they look now, these men are extremely dangerous, should you see these men please call the Kishen Task force as 666-7556." Steve said and then walked away, screens went blank and students began tittering once more.

When Shinji entered the data room, he noticed Wes was in a speed-induced frenzy, haphazardly picking up equipment and placing it wherever it would fit.

"Jesus Christ, Evans," Shinji shouted, "be careful with that equipment. That shit costs over 250 mill. What's gotten into you anyway?" Wes stared at him with wide frightened eyes.

"Game over man, fucking game over! Did you not see the message this morning, we are fucking dead, we got a price on our head man. I don't know about you but I am getting the fuck outta dodge." Wes said, slamming a CD ROM into a corner of the bag.

"Relax Wes, I got this all figured out, just put in the Shinigami program," Wes stopped Shinji.

"Won't fucking load man, it won't fucking load. Total system lockdown, nothing in or out." He said.

"God damn son of a bitch! Now what, now what do we do?" Shinji said. A voice spoke from behind him.

"I suggest you both put up your hands." Lance said holding a service revolver in his hand. They had been caught.

Mark sat in his hotel room, watching the coverage of the events on the local news when the familiar sounds of Miku Hatsune singing "Ievan Polkka" came from his cell phone. Rachel was calling him.

"Hey hon, what's up?" Mark said sitting up on the bed his legs crossed.

"I need your room number." Rachel said.

"Why, where are you?" he said.

"I am at the hotel and I need to talk to you now, it's important." She said.

"You're in Death City? Okay it's room 516, Take the elevator." Mark said. Within moments, she arrived.

"Rachel I thought I told you not to come here." He said.

"Mark listen to me, there is something I need to tell you," Rachel said as she sat down next to him on the bed.

"Mark, this may come as a shock to you but, oh god how to say this. Mark you're a death scythe." Rachel said. Mark laughed.

"Bullshit, are you trying to get in my pants or something?" He said.

"No listen to me. Your real name is Marco Thompson; you are the son of Jessica Thompson and Alexander Evans. You are Soul's half-brother."

"Bullshit!" Mark said.

"Listen to me! You were born in a New York hospital in 1982, a love child of Jessica Thompson and Alexander Evans. Jessica was a call girl and Alexander was a wealthy music producer who worked in the Chicago House scene. When Jessica had Liz and Patty she was dying of Cancer, she gave you to a family in Portugal."

"No, it's not true!" Mark said shaking his head.

"You had some trouble when you were 14, some bullies tried to jump you. That's when your powers manifested. You stabbed and shot them, your parents knew they had to get you out of the country so they made an agreement with the magistrate to send you to Shibusen. This is where we met!" She said.

"How come I don't remember?" Mark said.

"It's was Shroyer's fault. He was testing drugs for that Psychocybertronic thing; you just need a jump that's it." Rachel said.

"How do we do that? Steve is at the academy right now and all his equipment is at his apartment." He said.  
Then we need to go there now." Rachel said.

"I hope you know Steve won't be happy about this?" Mark said.

"Right now I could give two shits about Steve, come on." She said and grabbed her bag.

Soul lay in his bed, when he heard a rustling. Looking he saw Maka standing there, her hair untied, a nightgown billowing.

"Maka? You should be resting, we've been through a lot these past few days." He said.

"I want you Soul. My body yearns for you." She said as she picked up his hand and moved it down to her personal area. A pulling his hand away a bit of honey glistened in the sunlight.

"Maka, I" She silenced him and climbed on top of Soul unbuckling his pants placing herself on his hardness. Moving rhythmically, she gasped and shuddered, letting out soft moans. She begged him to go harder and deeper, he obliged. Both reaching their limit, she lay in the small hospital bed next to him. Just then, Soul felt a strange twisting in his stomach. He turned his face away from her; Maka looked at him.

"Soul," she said, "are you okay?" Soul turned towards her, his eyes glowing red, his sharp teeth gleaming. He growled.

"Soul hungry! Feed Soul!" He snarled. Maka fell off the bed and crawled towards a corner.

"Soul, what's happened to you?" Maka said.

"Soul Hungry! Feed Soul a soul!" he said. Maka looked at him in fear. Her beloved had gone mad yet she knew he needed to be fed.

"Okay Soul, you can have it," She said as his arm turned into a blade. "I just hope you find me tasty." She said and closed her eyes fading into darkness as the blade cut her. Soul grabbed the wing of her soul and placed it in his mouth, and gulped it down.

Steve sat in the conference room. Wes and Shinji were being held in a cell in the basement keep. Thumbing through records on his laptop he heard the door slam open.

"You son of a bitch!" Mark said.

"What, what did I do?" Steve said.

"You told me those drugs wouldn't do anything to my memory, that I would be okay. You lied!" Mark said.

"Oh fuck, I knew this would happen. Who told you?" Steve said.

"I did, and you know how to fix it too!" Rachel said.

"Mark, listen I don't think you want those memories back, if I give you a jump you'd go mad. Let's just call this thing off." Steve said.

"No, I want my fucking memories back!" Mark said.

"Okay, meet me at my apartment at 11. I just hope you know what your getting into." Steve said.

Meanwhile, a young scythe woke up to find blood all over his clothes and hospital room. Looking out the window he saw a wolf race off in the distance, a girl on his back clinging tightly.

_TBC_


	23. Day 10 part 3

30 Days

Day 10 part 3

Stein sat in the office, his cigarette letting out small wisps of blue smoke. He looked at the screen and then turned the screw on his head.

"You had this whole thing planned out didn't you?" He said to Steve. The bookstore owner waved away the smoke and let out a small cough of disapproval.

"Yes, Lance and I had this planned out last night. Now if you would put out that fucking cigarette or take it outside, I care about my health." Steve said. Stein crumpled the cigarette in the ashtray and crossed his arms.

"This still doesn't solve the other problems we have. Medusa and Free are still out there." Stein said.

"I know that, I got to formulate a strategy for this kind of stuff. I am a fucking businessman for Christ sake." Steve said. It was then the sound of snarls and gunfire filled the silence in the office.

"What the fuck?" Steve said and walked out the office following the sound. Making his way to Soul and Maka's infirmary room Steve noticed the death scythe staring out the window. Around him were the guards sworn to protect him, their bodies ripped savagely to shreds. Soul was covered in blood, Maka was nowhere in sight.

"I need some help here. We got ourselves a level-1 cluster fuck and sure as shit someone wasn't doing their job." Steve said. Stein raced in.

"Jesus Christ!" He shouted.

"My friend, he has nothing to do with this," Steven turned to Soul, "what happened, tell me what happened." Steve said and watched as Soul heaved, his cheeks bulged and slowly a black snake slithered out of his mouth, and fell on the floor. Steve grabbed a fork from a lunch tray and slammed it repeatedly into the snake. It made a mad squealing sound as the fork pulverized its head, black blood oozed on the floor mingling with the spilt security guards.

"I killed her," Soul said, "I killed her and ate her soul." Soul said his voice a monotonous drone. Collapsing onto the floor, Soul remembered the wolf telling him something. His mind searched for what it was but all he could whisper was "Chaos Reigns" and passed out.

Lance James poured over the security footage, he had to find something, what it was he was not entirely sure but, Steve had announced a level-1 cluster fuck out in the infirmary and since he was reviewing footage he thought he could see what exactly happened in there. Switching the cameras, he saw the attack that took place. A man in a black trench coat and fedora walked towards the guards. When asked for ID he shredded his outfit and became a wolf. There was no doubt who it was Free. Free slashed the guards with his razor sharp claws, Soul got out of his bed, his arm a scythe blade ready to attack, yet somehow he did not. Free touched the death scythes forehead and muttered something lulling the scythe into unconsciousness. Free turned into his human form again and picked up Maka. She kissed him deeply and buried her face in his strong chest before he turned into a wolf and dashed out the window with Maka on his back. Lance touched his comlink.

"Steve, I think you need to come to the security office." He said.

Kid sat in his father's office, a ball barring office toy made soft clack sounds on his desk. He knew something had happened, something bad, hence why he called them in. Steve and the rest of the task force stood at attention.

"I appreciate you all for coming here. Now as you may know we had an incident here just moments ago, and incident that was not supposed to have happened. Mr. Shroyer, care to explain yourself?" Kid said. Steve pulled out his laptop and played the security footage.

"I was unaware this was happening. I can tell you for sure that someone had planned this. Lance is still doing a synthetic voice analysis to figure out what Free said to Soul, however, Soul did say something to me." Steve said.

"Which was?" Kid asked

"Chaos reigns, sir. Pretty cryptic if you ask me, almost a warning." Steve said. Kid studied the video.

"I know what he is saying. If I remember right it is an incantation from the book of Eibon, roughly translated it says 'be free of darkness o' great one the world awaits thee. I grant the slumber until time comes neigh.'" Kid said.

"Now what the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Steve said.

"Something much worse is going to happen; Soul has 20 days, in that time we need to figure out what we are facing." Kid said.

"And Maka, what about her?" Spirit said.

"I am afraid something must have happened when she was with Medusa. She is a total loss." Kid said.

"Bull fucking horse shit! Maka Albarn is not a total loss and you know it Kid." Steve said.

"She ran off with a werewolf, is that not proof?" Kid said.

"No, god damn it, it's not. A young man as smart as you can draw a fine correlation but your ass must have fallen asleep when they told you it does not equal causation. "

"What do you suggest Steve?" Spirit said.

"I suggest we take a look at her charts. Medication logs, status reports, shit like that. She had to be under the influence of something or someone." Steve said.

"Fine, fine, we'll go over her records. If you are wrong Mr. Shroyer I suggest you go back to shop keeping." Kid said and waved them off.

Walking down the hallway Steve felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey hot stuff; don't forget you still owe me a date." It was Kami.

"You thought I forgot about you didn't you?" Steve said.

"You said you'd take me out, when ya gonna do it?" She said

"Well I was waiting for you to get better. Let's see, its three o clock now, meet me at my place in an hour. That is if you are free?" Steve said.

"I always have time for you. See ya soon." She said and gave him a peck on the lips. Steve took the elevator to his car and drove home to get dressed.

In a dark basement, something stirred, moaning in pain. Meanwhile in an upstairs bedroom a young girl with pigtails was being injected with black blood completing a plan that had been set in motion days ago. In a basement dungeon at Shibusen, a ninja waited with anticipation while his partner lay in pain from withdrawal, and in an infirmary bed a young man waited for his orders. Chaos would soon reign, no one knew it though, and no one knew that one man held the key to preventing it all. That man just needed his memories and a meister.

_TBC_


	24. Day 10 part 4 Day 11

30 Days

Day 10 Part 4 and Day 11 part one

Kami and Steve sat at the table, the date had ended, Steve's steak finished and Kami's Salmon now just a memory. The two were lost in conversation. By the time they made it, back to his apartment Kami and Steve sat there drinking coffee.

"I wonder if she's okay, Maka I mean." Kami said.

"She's a strong girl Kami. I am sure she'll make it." Steve said clasping her hand.

"I never should have let Spirit have custody of her. I was traveling all the time; I thought it would be a good fit for her to stay close to home. He's such an asshole some times." She said.

"That girlfriend he has now is a piece of work huh?" Steve said getting himself another cup.

"A cat girl, what a pervert, could he stoop any lower?" she said.

"Well he could get himself a toothless street hooker. We have tons of those in Coshocton." Steve he said and looked at the clock. They had been talking for three hours. Right on the dot, Marco and Rachel knocked on the door.

"I have some work to do Kami, it's quite disturbing. If you want to go I understand." Steve said walking to the door of his apartment.

"I kinda want to see this." She said. Steve opened the door and ushered the two in.

"Now Mark, we have two procedures, I don't guarantee these will work entirely but basically they amount to a pill or electronic shock. Now the shock I feel is more dangerous because of the potential damages to the brain. My suggestion is to go with the pill." Steve said.

"How can we be certain these memories haven't been lost forever?" Marco said.

"The human brain is not like a computer hard drive, we can't write over it with new information, just add to it." Steve said.

"Will he be able to transform?" Rachel said.

"With all likelihood this procedure will build upon the current experiences he has been having. " Steve walked to his room and came back with a footlocker and placed his key inside. He pulled out a small bottle of pills. The capsules were bright red, about the size of a piece of chewing gum.

"Now, what these drugs will do is they will cause small electronic shocks to cerebrum, these shocks will cause a chain reaction counteracting the previous drug's side effects. It should take no longer than two minutes." Steve said.

"What happens if it takes longer than two minutes?" Marco said.

"Lance and I only tried these on lab rats. For them it was a slight three day coma, humans I am not so sure." Steve said.

"Give it to me." Marco said.

"Okey dokey pig in a pokey, Kami could you get in the fridge and get the Gatorade." Steve said.

"Why Gatorade, why not water?" Rachel said as she let Marco rest his head on her lap.

"Electrolytes, they help amplify the chemical reaction in the pills. Soak an onion overnight in this shit and you can charge your iPod, bet those survivalists in Montana would love that." Steve said handing Marco a bottle.

"Cheers!" Marco said and swallowed the pill. At fifteen seconds, the pill began to take hold. Marco's body shook, jumping in small fevered jolts. At thirty seconds, his mouth began to froth, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Steve turned to Kami.

"Get me a washcloth now or else this boy is gonna swallow his tongue!" Steve shouted. At a One minute and thirty seconds, Marco was shaking violently. By the end, he stopped and did not move. Steve touched him. His skin was cold.

"What happened?" Rachel said. Marco started to turn blue.

"Shit, shit, Kami get the shower running! Cold water, I mean Artic cold!" Steve shouted.

"What did you do?" Rachel screamed.

"I think his heart stopped. Some of the pill's chemicals must have made their way into the heart and screwed with his SNA."

"What the fuck is that?" She said.

"Sino atrial node, it controls the heartbeat. We need a shock." Steve said.

"Then why don't you use a defibrillator?" she screamed.

"There is enough electricity in that boy right now to power the city of Los Angeles for three days. Every cell is storing that up, even his skin. Putting him in cold water will not only give that electricity somewhere to go but maybe jump start him." Steve.

"It's ready Steve." Kami said. Steve picked up Marco's body and placed him in the tub. His body crackled and snapped as it hit the water. The lights in the house dimmed and brightened Marco seized and then grasped a hold of the temperature knob.

"I remember, I remember everything!" He said. Rachel leaned into the water and held him her hair clinging in small strands on her head.

Marco and Rachel sat in the living room with Steve and Kami, Marco was wearing Steve's blue bathrobe and drinking coffee while Marco's clothes tumbled in the dryer.

"I saw Spirit tonight." Marco said.

"How's he handling the Maka situation?" Steve said.

"He's fine, crying his eyes out but still."

"Well if you saw security footage of your daughter getting lovey dovey with an evil werewolf you would too." Steve said.

"There has to be a reason for her doing that. Maka wouldn't do that willingly." Kami said.

"She loves Soul too much, that we can be sure of one-hundred percent. The question I have is if something happened to her while, she was with Medusa. Maybe we are missing something?" Steve said.

"Like what?" Marco said. The dryer buzzed.

"Like," Steve shouted from the laundry room, "perhaps brainwashing, though reform?"

Marco took his clothes and went to Steve's bedroom. Rachel clasped her hands together.

"I don't see why I'm not involved in this, I am a former meister." She said.

"No offence Rachel, but I think this is too complex for even you. What we are dealing with is an evil beyond compare; nothing like this exists in the world." Steve said.

"You think I haven't faced evil before?" Rachel said.

"You're a high school foreign language teacher from Yankton South Dakota, now pardon my French here but I don't think you know your ass from a hole in the ground. How long has it been since you've been a meister, ten, eleven years?" Steve said.

"I didn't ask for my husband to be involved in this." She said.

"His services are needed; yours are not, simple as that. Now if you want to argue the logistics of this we can at some other time but the fact is clearly, we need someone who can deal with the work we give them." Steve said.

"Steve maybe she has a point?" Kami said.

"You're agreeing with her?" Steve said.

"I have seen her file, she's a talented meister, and Marco is a talented weapon. It took three weeks to go from just partners, to Meister and Death Scythe. Just give her a chance okay." She said.

"I thought grigori were supposed to be kinder?" Rachel said.

"How do you know I am a grigori soul?" Steve said.

"I can see your soul. Maka isn't the only one you know." She said.

"Okay, you're in, but I expect nothing but hard work out of you." Steve said. Marco snapped the buttons of his cuffs on his shirt.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"More than ready." Rachel said and got up.

"See you tomorrow?" Marco said.

"Unless something comes up, then yes." Steve said, and saw them out.

"I have to go too, paperwork and such." Kami said and kissed Steve on the lips her perfume was driving Steve nuts. He didn't want to let her go.

"Tomorrow?" Steve said.

"Most definitely." Steve said.

The girl made her way to the infirmary of Shibusen, she sat there blank eyed, staring off into space. Meanwhile the thing in the basement of the old mansion mentally told himself to heal his wounds and then shut his heartbeat down to hide from his captors. As morning rose on the academy word spread about the discovery.

Steve woke up to the sound of the phone in his bedroom.

"Hello?" He said voice tinged with early morning rasp.

"Steve? It's Lance, Maka was found in the infirmary this morning." His friend said.

"Is she okay?" Steve asked

"She's catatonic, we need you here now." Lance said.

"I'll be right there." Steve said and got dressed in a flash. A small black spider crawled on the floor, he stomped on it with his boot and walked out.


	25. Day 11 part 2

30 Days

Day 11 part 2

"She just sits there, looking off into space not saying anything." Lance said as Steve watched the screen in the security room. He took a sip of his coffee.

"Tell Stein he needs to sew himself some taste buds. This coffee is weaker than shit." Steve said.

"Stein's coffee making abilities aside, " Lance said, "I have the latest black blood count numbers, and let me tell ya brother it ain't good."

"How bad, Pre-Kishen or Full?" Steve asked.

"This black blood is resistant to any sort of agent we use on it. Stein says there may be no cure for it." Lance said and sipped his coffee. He scrunched his face in displeasure.

"I told ya that shit was bad, I should make the damn coffee." Steve said.

"Let's focus on Maka here." Lance said.

"I agree with you one-hundred percent. Now what about upping the dosage on the black blood-cleansing agents, have we tried that?" Steve said.

"Stein says it could be possible but has no concrete proof that it won't damage her red blood cells. This is quite a quandary we have ourselves in Steve."

"I'll have a talk with Kami about it. She has been doing extensive research on Black Blood since 2008. If anyone would know it would be her." Steve said and drained his coffee in one drink. He tossed the cup in the trash.

Maka heard the voice in her head, the one keeping her bound to darkness. It whispered to her like a best friend, wanting to share a secret.

"You know what you must do." The voice said. Maka nodded and reached under the mattress for the knife. Getting up she walked toward down the hall looking for her target.

"No response, are you sure?" Kami said as she and Steve walked down the hall.

"That's Stein's figure not mine. I came to you to see what other options there were, besides the cleansers." Steve said.

"I don't know of any other options save for a complete changeover." Kami said.

"Like what Keith Richards does every month?" Steve said.

"I have it on good authority that Mr. Richards does not get his blood changed like a Chevrolet gets its oil done every 3,000 miles. Still it is a similar process if that's what you're thinking." She said.

"I don't think a complete replacement will do anything but kill her. I just wish we knew what was going on in there." Steve said. It was then he heard the nervous titter of a young girl. Maka raced toward Steve. She slashed at him, tearing open his blue silk shirt at the sleeve. Steve spun and knocked the knife out of her hand with a swift kick he then climbed on top of her pinning her to the floor.

"I need some help here!" He shouted. He then saw the black spider like spot on the back of her head. Maka fidgeted under his grasp. Steve grabbed the spot just as Stein and Spirit arrived to back him up. The spot made a "squee" sound as he freed it from her neck. It had eight legs and two fangs.

"Stop," Maka screamed, "Stop, make it stop! You're hurting me, stop!"

"Maka, it's okay, do you know where you are?" Steve asked.

"You're hurting me you furry pervert!" Maka shouted.

"She thinks I'm Free. take her to the infirmary, If she gives you any more trouble, shoot her up with some tranquilizers," Steve said Maka stopped moving and began to close her eyes. "Or not, either way she's pretty screwed up." Spirit picked up his daughter and walked to the infirmary. Steve held the bug up to Stein.

"You have any idea what this is?" Steve said.

"Give me some time and I will." Stein said.

"Make it snappy. Tell the guards to send Takinawa into the meeting room, I want to talk to him and see what he knows. Make sure he's secure, I'm talking shackles and handcuffs if we have them." Steve said and went down the hall.

Shinji Takinawa sat across from Steve in the meeting room on the opposite side.

"I hope you know why you're here." Steve said.

"Why is any of us here, that is an eternal mystery to man." Shinji said.

"That's not a mystery I contemplate when the power goes out." Steve said. Shinji laughed.

"I am sure you think of many things, deep things Mr. Shroyer. Quid pro Quo, I ask you a question you ask me a question. I like doing it that way." The ninja said.

"I don't have the time, nor am I in the mood for the Hannibal Lecter bullshit. Bottom line: Who are you working for, names and addresses now?" Steve said.

"I am sure Mr. D'éclair and Mr. Ford would be glad to help you with that. Quid Pro Quo Mr. Shroyer?" Shinji continued

"Knock it off, or I can send your ass to solitary confinement in a real shithole of a cell here." Steve said.

"You told him that didn't you? Whenever he started rambling on about his favorite book you'd tell him to knock it off Tell me, how do you think dear Old Matt felt when those boys beat him to death?" Shinji said coldly.

"That's enough." Steve said.

"They not only beat your poor brother, those brutish savages stuck things inside him things that didn't belong, things not of human or animal origin. You think that he screamed like a little girl when they took that Bacardi bottle and stuck it in his," Shinji said Steve cut him off.

"You shut your god damn mouth right now or I will fucking end you." He shouted.

"He wondered where you were, he loved you so much. You were his hero. 'Bro? Bro? Where are you?' he cried while the leaves fell on his battered corpse." Shinji said.

"Get this fucking son of a bitch out of this room before I commit homicide." Steve shouted. Guards walked in and picked Shinji up by his underarms. Shinji blew Steve a kiss as he was led away. Steve looked at his watch, it was almost one, and hours left until his day ended.

Kami knocked on Steve's office door to no response. When she turned the knob she saw Steve staring intently at a computer screen. Walking behind him she saw the headline.

"Local Fraternity Brothers Found Guilty." She placed her hand on Steve's shoulder making him jump.

"Sweet Jesus, don't do that!" Steve said.

"Sorry. What's this, some frat boy case from your alma mater?" Kami said.

"I was 25 at the time," Steve said. "Lance, Marco and I were working on our little project. That was 2002. My younger brother Matt had just started at Kent. He loved the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice and decided to go as a vampire for Halloween. I said I'd go with him downtown but I got caught up in my work and forgot all about it. When I got back to the apartment there was a message from Campus PD. He was found in Centennial Field, beat up. His brain swelled in his skull so much that it pushed out into his spine. I later learned what happened." Steve said.

"What happened?" Kami said.

Steve continued. "He found himself near fraternity row and he happened to encounter some members of Sig Chi. He went to their house, hit on someone's girlfriend and one of the brothers kept him there until all the others had left. They took turns beating him up. One of them came up with the idea of using the Bacardi bottle as a toy and they, well let's say it wasn't pretty. By the time they had realized what they had done. They were too drunk to care and tossed his body in the grassy area near one of the dorms. One of the brothers who testified said he was crying for me to save him. "

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." Kami said.

"If I hadn't been such a workaholic I would have helped him. My parents and I rarely speak now. I moved from Kent to here to get away from it all. Takinawa knew about it though and he barely even knows me." He said.

"Look, why don't you go home. You've had a rough day and I think you need some time to think." Kami said.

"Thanks, if Stein finds something about that bug, have him call me." Steve said shutting his computer down and walking to the door. Kami gave him a peck on the lips.

"Did you just?" Steve said. Kami nodded.

"You need it." She said. Steve smiled and walked towards his car.

11:22 PM

"It's a spider, no doubt about that." Stein said.

"How did it get on Maka is the question?" Steve said adjusting the phone in his hand.

"Well we know it's what was giving her the black blood." Stein said.

"Is she still draining? Steve said.

"We've changed the pillow cases several times. I don't know how we could clean them up without having someone get contaminated." Stein said.

"My advice is to put a tube in the hole and give it somewhere to drain other than the bed." Steve said. It was just then he heard the apartment door open.

"I wonder what she's doing home this late?" Steve said to himself.

"Who?" Stein said.

"Crona, and Kid went on a date tonight. They went to see _Black Swan_." Steve said getting up from his chair.

"Kinda young for that movie aren't they?" Stein said.

"Kid is old enough for R rated movies. Can I call you back?" Steve said. Stein agreed and he hung up. Steve walked out of his study and went to the hallway.

"Crona?" He shouted. No response, he heard footsteps and then the thick sound of someone slamming themselves into a chair.

"Crona sweetie, you're home late. I thought you said you would be home by ten." Steve said walking into the living room. No answer, his recliner rocked gently.

"Crona, we have a big order coming in from Deadite Press tomorrow, you need to get some sleep." Steve said. He walked over to the chair. "Come on hon, time for bed." He looked in the chair, and gasped. There sitting in the blue recliner was his long dead brother. Blood oozed from his head like a waterfall. His grey skin pulsed with maggots underneath, his eyeballs were poking from outside their sockets.

"Hiya bro! You know I missed you while I was down there, alone. It's so cold and there's no books for me to read." Matt said his voice a gruff, gargled mess.

"No, you're not real!" Steve shouted.

"You just had to hang out with your gay otaku buddies, no time for matty no no. Well that's all over now. You're coming with me, trust me you'll have fun. Everybody is mad down there, madness is a way of life." Matt said.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" Steve shouted. Matt jumped off the chair and planted himself on the ceiling. He crawled liked a spider, across the length of the living room before stopping overhead where his brother was cowering. Opening his mouth, Black spiders fell down covering Steve. He could feel their legs tickle his skin. He screamed and gagged as they crawled in his mouth. He then opened his eyes and saw Crona standing over him.

"Dad? What's wrong?" Crona said.

"I don't know. I need to go to Shibusen. Maybe Lance and Jennifer's, and have some tests run. Steve said and slid his shoes on.

_TBC_


	26. Day 12

30 Days

Day 12

_Author's note: The song used in this chapter is "Come What May" From Moulin Rouge and is copyright its writers so I have nothing to make off of it. I also don't own Soul Eater. Trust me if I did, I wouldn't work almost every day for a living. _

Steve sat in Stein's office; he had not been able to shake the feeling he had at his apartment an hour before. Stein lanced his finger to get a drop of blood and placed it in small centrifuge to separate the cells.

"You said you actually saw you brother?" Stein said.

"If I'm lying, I'm dying he sat in my chair and then crawled on my ceiling. I don't make shit like this up." Steve said. The Centrifuge made a small meep.

"Let me look at this sample." Stein said and placed the blood on the slide. Peering into his microscope Stein's mouth screwed into a perplexed scow. Steve had noticed this; he noticed a lot of nonverbal communication nowadays.

"It's not good is it?" Steve said.

"Not if you consider being black blood free a bad thing." Stein said.

"Is there some rational way to explain this?" Steve said.

"Well here is what I gleaned from the analysis of the spider we found on Maka: Apparently we now have two witches. The spider is a common trait of Arachne, and let me tell ya she is one you do not want to fuck with, especially if you value your sanity. My guess is she patched up with Medusa and is working for her." Stein said twisting the screw in his head.

"Not possible, I mean arachnophobia was disbanded in what 2008? I mean we got Leon and her bodyguard on our payroll from the looks of it. More than likely it is an inside job." Steve said.

"What makes you think someone is working on the inside?" Stein said.

"Takinawa mentioned two students; their names are Ox Ford and Havar D'éclair. Something tells me they have a stake in this." Steve said.

"D'éclair and Ford are the round out the top three students, Maka is number one. I don't think they would have anything to gain from this." Stein said.

"Maka hasn't been to class in almost two weeks so maybe she's behind, maybe this is a ploy by them to ascend?" Steve said.

"Shinigami-sama suspended classes right after Soul was diagnosed, students have been on a practical holiday until the thirty days are up." Stein said and pushed up his glasses.

"I was under the impression it was just Soul?" Steve said.

"It isn't really widely known save for his inner circle." Stein said walking over to his computer.

"What I have learned is Mifune and Angela have gone missing in the past twelve days, they were in a safe house on campus," Stein continued, "the place was ransacked and Mifune's swords were gone, police found seminal fluid in Angela's room. Mifune's room had some high impact velocity spatter. Other than that we don't know really where they are."

"Was Mifune a kid diddler?" Steve said.

"No, and if he were here he'd kick your ass for saying that. His main job is protection; he was a talented journalist too. He did a bunch of articles for the Death City Bee." Stein said.

"Any way I can have access to this so called 'safe house'?" Steve said.

"If you have a Shibusen ID then yes you can, but why?" Stein said puzzled.

"I think there may be some kind of thread here, where it is leading is a mystery. How do I get there from here?" Steve said.

"It's a block away from here, 1614 South Kauffman." Stein said. Steve walked out, somewhere the truth was hiding, and he needed to roust it out of his hiding place.

Soul sat next to Maka's bed, her small chest rising and falling with slow slumbering breaths. He held his guitar and sighed.

"I know you can't hear me, it doesn't matter. I just wanted to perform for you again. Remember that movie you liked and I said was crap? You know the one with the courtesan and the poet. I found the music on the internet and had been practicing this ever since. I had been saving this for a special time but I guess you and this whole black blood thing I think you need this." Soul said and began to strum; his voice cut the silence in the room.

"Never knew I could feel like this, like I've never seen the sky before. Want to vanish inside your kiss, every day I love you more and more. Listen to my heart can you hear it sing? Telling me to give you everything, seasons may change, winter to spring. But I'll love you until the end of time." Soul said. A small tear fell on the guitar. A small frail voice began to sing.

"Come What May, Come what May. I will love you, until my dying day." Soul looked; Maka's green eyes looked at him in the dim light. Tears rimmed the edges; they soon flowed freely down her cheeks.

"Oh Soul, I don't know what I would do if I lost you. I can't take this anymore." Maka said pressing herself against Soul's chest. The scent of his body spray, mingled with soap and Right Guard soothed her. His wavelength and hers resonated, making them feel at peace. Soul smiled.

"I'll be right back, I am going to tell Dr. Stein you're awake." He said.

"Could you bring me something to drink?" She said.

"Sure." Soul said and walked out the door.

Stein was right about the ID. Swiping it through the abandoned security station Steve made his way up the winding drive to the house. The door was covered in police tape, testing the door he found it gave with the slightest touch. Clicking on his flashlight he walked into the foyer, a poster of "The Seven Samurai" was framed on the wall next to a smaller picture of Angela swimming in a pool. Walking down the hall, he noticed how badly the place had been ransacked. The dining room chairs were splintered into pieces. A vase that once contained a Beta fish had been smashed, the fish lay next to it rotting. Pots and pans lay strewn alongside knives and savagely ripped open boxes of Frosted Flakes and Kraft Mac and Cheese. The scent the refrigerator gave off made him gag; he quickened his pace past the room and tried not to breathe through his nose. Walking up the spiral staircase, he saw more pictures of Angela. Many of them candid shots of her playing in the grass or eating some kind of desert, the rest were watercolor paintings of the girl. Steve peaked into Angela's room, his nerves firing off pulses of discomfort. A teddy bear lay on the floor with its head ripped off. Artwork had been torn from the walls, and scratches were visible in the sky blue wall. He made his way to a door labeled with bright yellow tape. It read "Mifune's Office, Keep out"

"Sorry bud," Steve said, "That's one primary directive I can't follow." He said and turned the knob. Inside was a bookshelf lined with manila folders. Labels on ranged from topics like "Kishens" to "Homeland Security" one file was missing. He looked on the oak desk. There was a thick file bound with elastic bands. The title struck Steve as odd. "Secret Research" was all it said. Picking it up him walked down the steps and made his way out the door and back to his office.

"I don't detect any black blood. This a good sign." Stein said.

"No shit Dick Tracy." Maka said.

"No need to be snide Maka. You should be able to go home in a couple hours. "Stein said.

"Well that's a relief." Soul said.

"I'm sure Steve would want you to be debriefed on your experiences but for now just rest, kay?" Stein said. Maka nodded and watched Stein walk out. Maka looked at Soul who was sitting next to her drinking a can of Sprite.

"Soul?" She said.

"Yes?" he said setting his can down.

"Could you do something for me?" Maka said.

"Sure." Soul said.

"Hold me, just hold me close and never let me go until the sun rises." Maka said. Soul kissed Maka passionately. She shifted in the bed making whatever room she could for Soul then lay her head on his chest. They lay that way in peace as the hour passed on to the next.

Steve sat in his office poring over the documents. Mifune had been investigating the possibility of people inside Shibusen and around the world to resurrect Asura for a means of waging war. To Steve it sounded like total BS, something a guy with tinfoil on his head would say.

"Come on Mifune, you got to give me something better than this shit." Steve said. It was then he saw the emblem of CIA. Looking at the memo it was sent to Medusa from the director Leon Panetta. The heading read "Possible target for "Operation Monthly Madness'." Scanning it he noticed something was off. The document didn't look genuine, and it didn't look like it came from the CIA. Looking closer he saw what looked to be a small doodle of an octopus. Steve scanned the document into his computer and highlighted the mark. The computer came up with a match and a location of where it came from.

"Not possible, Shinigami-sama killed them all?" Steve said. He picked up the phone.

"Stein, it's Steve. I got a file here from the safe house and there is a document here that I think everyone should know about. Stein I don't know how to put this but, they're back."

_TBC_


	27. Day 12 part 2

30 Days

Day 12 Part 2

_Authors note: I have received a review that has stated that this story is making little to no sense. I personally think its scattered plotline gives it its charm but that's okay fella you had your fun sending me a review. Tonight's chapter will try to bring some cohesiveness to this story. I should point out that I do own the… hold on…. Dang! Some idiot in Texas outbid me for the rights to Soul Eater by a penny so I guess that means I don't own the rights to it. Enjoy!_

"It's all outlined here, the insignia, the whole conspiracy, it's all there!" Steve said showing Stein a scattered mass of papers tacked on his corkboard.

"There is the matter of the black blood." Stein said.

"You idiot," Steve said, "Look at the damn reports. There is no black blood, Soul Evans was never found positive, and no one else has either. The whole thing is a ruse!" Steve said.

"How do we explain Maka? How she has been coming down and succumbing time after time?" Stein said.

"Because that's not Maka, it's a fake!" Steve shouted.

"You are off your rocker." Stein said.

"Look screw head," Steve shouted, "Mifune was on to something, he knew about this whole thing before we could even be prepared. He has tons of documents from noted magic associations, members of this group that have been prepping for this since 2008!"

"Steve, I think we need to take you to the infirmary." Stein said his voice a Monotonous drone.

"What happened to your voice?" Steve said.

"There's nothing wrong with my voice." Stein said.

"I took enough communications courses at Kent to know your non-verbal communication is giving me some weird vibes!" Steve said.

"Let me give you a shot." Stein said and pulled out a syringe. Steve looked at Steins wrist; a tattoo of an octopus was prominently featured.

"Son of a Bitch!" Steve shouted

_Two hours earlier_

Steve knew something was wrong when he looked at the clocks in the academy, they were moving excessively fast. He had to tell somebody though, Stein seemed logical. It seemed to him that there was something very wrong with this whole thing. If Maka had been sexually promiscuous with evil entities, why did she not become pregnant? What did Mifune know that Steve did not, how had he prepared? Was he still alive? All became clear when he looked at the reports in detail. This was all a part of some conspiracy, set up by a group of Meisters, Weapons, Witches, Wizards and the like to destroy the fabric of reality and to bring madness to a heightened level around the world. The group was known as The Cthulhu Group, a well-funded organization with ties to political campaigns, businesses, and celebrities. It was rumored the current president went to meetings underneath DC or that Marilyn Manson was an active member. What was true was Death City was becoming their little experiment. The Cthulhu Group had planned the whole thing, according to Mifune. Maka was not who she said she was, the black blood was non- existent in Soul's body and nobody would know anything about the fact that average students were engaging in wanton acts of hedonism in their dorms. In fact time was no longer an issue, it was still day twelve in the real world, the world beyond this one, but today could be any time in from then on out in here. Opening the door to Stein's office, he slammed the file down on his desk.

_Two Hours Later_

He did not want to shoot Stein. He had no choice though. He was one of them. Mifune's reports were filled with the fact they would have their own versions of people in their reality to throw people for a loop. He also said they would have the octopus tattoo on their wrist. No one would be able to see it, save for him now. Kicking Stein's bolt from the inside of his skull Steve made his way to the infirmary. He saw Maka and Soul lying there peacefully. He gently picked up Maka's wrist and looked for marks. There was the tattoo, as predicted. Pressing the gun to Maka's temple, he smirked. "The truth shall be revealed." Steve said and pulled the trigger. The world went white.

"God damnit Lance I told you to adjust this perceptionspace thing!" Steve shouted pulling off his helmet from inside the back office. Lance was signing the order form from Deadite Press.

"Lance, Jesus Christ, the program shut down!" Steve shouted. Lance made his way to the back office.

"Sorry Steve, the delivery man was here. Did you find anything?" Lance said.

"Only that I'm completely bugnuts but that is beside the point. The point is that everything as of right now has been logical or shall we say illogical." Steve said.

"How so?" His friend said.

"I ran the scenario, through the generator, I did gain contact with Mifune's consciousness. Unfortunately, it has been scrambled, nothing but H.P Lovecraft nonsense and me shooting Maka, my fear is I am gradually being affected by the surroundings. I mean, I was in his house, which is where I got the disk from other than that I can't really find any source of cohesion in his thoughts on there." Steve said.

"What about the Black Blood?" Lance said.

"My Belief is this: Soul is clean, Maka is clean, and pretty much everyone is clean. They have been from the start of this whole dang thing. The question is why does Maka keep on succumbing and Soul is okay?" Steve said.

"Let me bring up her medical charts." Lance said tapping his touch pad. "Well this could be our answer." He said.

"What?" Steve said.

"You know those two boys Takinawa mentioned?" Lance said.

"Havar and Ox," Steve said "what about them?"

"Says here they were in the Lab at the checking out equipment at the same time Medusa was doing her tests. I'll pull up the security footage." Lance said. "Well I'll be damned." He said.

"What?" Steve said. Lance flipped the pad around, there was Havar and Ox picking out a vial of black blood and placing a dropper on a test strip.

"Fuckers set the whole thing up!" Steve said.

"Hello? Mr. Shroyer?" a voice shouted. It sounded familiar. Steve walked out and saw a pigtailed girl in a black coat and red plaid skirt.

"Maka? How did you get out of the infirmary so fast?" Steve said.

"What infirmary? Don't you remember? I was studying abroad in Florence, Soul was there too, remember?" Maka said Soul waved from outside.

"No way, this isn't real." Steve said.

"You're right Mr. Shroyer it's not, you have something that belongs to me." Maka said, a thin black tongue flicked out of her mouth.

In a dark basement, the thing got enough strength to break its bars, making its way out into the light. In the infirmary, a blond girl was having a vivid nightmare. In a dormitory, two top students counted the money they had just received for setting plans in motion. In a holding cell two young men plotted their next action. Somewhere in a dilapidated old house, a young witch was in hiding, and it all had a thread, all of it was linked. The answer of what connects them, is left up to interpretation. What is true is nothing is as it seems and for the next 17 days things will fall apart.

_TBC_


	28. Day 12 part 3

30 Days

Day 12 Part 3

Steve was pressed against the bookshelf, her hand wrapped around his throat. Lance had the revolver aimed squarely at Medusa's head but the gun made empty clicking sounds as he tried to fire.

"Where is she, where is my daughter?" Medusa hissed.

"Fuck your grandma!" Steve hoarsely spat at her Medusa looked at Lance and then back at Steve.

"You both are trying my patience, tell me where she is and I'll reward you handsomely." Medusa said.

"Hey mom?" Crona shouted. Medusa spun around to face a medical dictionary slamming into her head. Medusa slumped to the floor, Steve gasped in substantial amounts of air into his lungs.

"Where did you get that?" Steve asked

"I gave it to her." Rachel said as she and Marco stepped out from behind the hidden doorway beside the cyberpunk fiction.

"First off, how did you get in here? Second how did you find that room?" Steve said.

"No time for that now, we have something to show you." Marco said. Steve and Lance walked over to the room where they held most of their equipment from Kent.

"At 3:45 PM there was an alert going through all channels in the network of Witches around the world. Read this." Marco said.

"Toilet Paper Mask has escaped, what the hell does that mean?" Steve said.

"Remember that show you used to watch in our dorm? The one about the wallaby who wore Hawaiian shirts?" Marco said

"Rocko's Modern Life, what about it?" Steve said.

"I remembered an episode he and his friend were on a talk show and there was a thing made out of toilet paper. I googled it and found this image." Marco said.

"Season 3 episode 9 entitled 'Speaking Terms' features this thing made out of toilet paper. Look familiar?" Rachel said.

"No fucking way? He is alive. Shinigami-sama is alive. Lance, hook up server Z-146 to the Neural Scan, see if we can locate him." Steve said. Lance ran an Ethernet cable from the monolithic server to a port in the middle of the room.

"He is in the northwest quadrant of Death City, about two blocks from here, and moving east toward the academy. Movement rate is 1.5 miles per minute and slowly increasing, vitals are tip top." Lance said.

"What does everyone know at the academy?" Steve said.

"Nothing as of yet, we need to inform Kid that his dad is alive, and he no longer has control anymore, I doubt he'll like that. Other than what we know currently, we need to have him debriefed before we let him back in power." Rachel said.

"What about the she-male on the floor?" Steve said.

"Bind her, gag her and question the shit out of her until she drops." Rachel said her high heels clicking on the floor as she walked out.

"Lance, get the rope and duct tape." Steve said.

"Right." He said and went into the office.

Maka's dreams of the world around her always ended the same. Soul would slash her and then swallow her soul, grinning as black blood dripped down his nose. Stein and Kami sat in an office not too far from the infirmary where the two young lovers slept.

"She's not pregnant, that we know, as for her succumbing to the black blood on a nearly constant basis, well look at this." Stein said. Kami looked at the file.

"Vitamin B2-34? Never heard of it." Kami said.

"It's a black blood increaser. In 2008 after Maka and Soul fought Free she had developed black blood, it was small but Medusa gave her these 'Vitamins' to increase the spread. Now we looked at all possible avenues and when we tested her friends, we found the same vitamin in their system. Somebody is trying to screw with our elite unit, someone on the inside, someone who knows the ins and outs of this school. Shroyer scratched the surface when he interviewed Takinawa, he also gave me this." Stein said and handed Kami a file.

"This here is the financial records of the D'éclair and Ford Families. Notice how hard the economy has hit them." Stein said

"They went from 20 million to 900,000 in the span of a year, I am noticing some properties here, are we talking the real estate bubble?" Kami said.

"Ford and D'éclair's parents had money invested in a group known as the Cthulhu Group. Their plan was to build a series of theme restaurants across the United States based on H.P Lovecraft fiction. The thing was a Ponzi scheme, pyramid if you want to call it that. They even got Edward Lee, the horror novelist fooled. The guy in charge promised a substantial return on their investment but in fact ran off with the money and is on the loose. The feds are looking for his ass now."

"What does this have to do with the boys?" Kami said.

"Well let's look at it this way: If someone came up to you and offered you a ridiculous sum of money to basically sabotage a school and ruin lives would you do it?" Stein said.

"No, hell no." Kami said.

"This was found in Mifune's house here on campus, no one knows where he is or his ward as well. Steve wouldn't give me the details but he said he would try to run some kind of VR program to find him." Stein said.

"He's dead, and so is Angela." A hoarse voice spoke from behind them. The two spun around in their chairs.

"Shinigami-sama?" Stein said.

"You were expecting Michelle Bachman?" Shinigami-sama said.

"How did you survive? We thought you were," Kami said. Shinigami-sama stopped her

"Dead? Far from it, I want to talk to that weird guy who owns the bookstore. I want to talk to him and only him." Shinigami-sama said.

"I'll call him." Kami said and picked up her cell phone.

Medusa lay in the trunk of Steve's Dodge. The four adults were discussing something; it was muffled hard to make out. As she huffed through her nose, one thought crossed her mind. "Mabaa is going to kill me."

_TBC_


	29. Day 12 part 4

30 Days

Day 12 Part 4

_For Spawn and Amber, a cute couple, just like Soul and Maka._

Steve's Dodge roared into the parking lot, slamming on his brakes he put the car in park and tossed the keys to Marco.

"Open the trunk, take her to security and have them put her in a Max cell. I'll deal with her later." He said as he raced up the steps. Kami was waiting for him.

"You heard?" she said.

"He'll only talk to me huh?" He said.

"You're the weird guy from the bookstore." Kami said.

"Has he said anything?" Steve said.

"Only that Angela and Mifune are dead." She said.

"Which room?" Steve said.

"666." Kami said.

"Fitting." He said and opened the door. Shinigami-sama held a water pitcher in his hand. He was pouring himself a glass to ease his dry throat.

"You that weird bookstore guy?" he said.

"If you consider liking Stanley Kubrick and Bizarro fiction weird then yes, that's me" Steve said and sat down.

"You know about the Cthulhu Group I suppose?" Shinigami-sama said.

"I looked through all of Mifune's documents, I guess his lack of synaptic activity is the reason my hacking efforts seemed like a brown acid trip. I know it was a Ponzi scheme, I know two prestigious students here have been implicated, I know a lot of things. What I want to know is how in the hell did you survive."

"I can regenerate myself, I was not dead but merely dormant when Ragnarok found me. I saw what they did to Maka and Soul, nasty business indeed but that pales to what I know about the incidents that have been happening here. Ever heard of Mabaa?" Shinigami-sama said.

"No, can't say I have. Is she involved with the group?" Steve said.

"She is not directly involved but someone other than her is pulling the strings." Shinigami-sama said.

"It's Takinawa isn't it?" Steve said.

"Not even a lowly kishen like Asura could be involved in this. That is what Mr. Takinawa is in fact, a reincarnation." Shinigami-sama said.

"Okay, this Mabaa person, how's she involved." Steve said.

"She is sending her witches out to do her dirty work to cover up tracks that lead to her boss. The head founder of the Cthulhu Group, Howard Philips Lovecraft." Shinigami-sama said.

"H.P Lovecraft died in 1937, no way in hell someone like that could be pulling the strings." Steve said.

"Maybe, it isn't really him? Maybe it's a descendant who uses the name, in Rhode Island there have been sightings of him at a cemetery." Shinigami-sama said.

"So you're telling me, that H.P Lovecraft or someone masquerading as him has been behind this whole thing?" Steve said.

"No, no you're missing the point . H.P is dead I was at his funeral, someone else is pulling the strings that uses that name on the internet. It isn't Takinawa, Mabaa, Medusa, or Arachne. Think higher on the totem pole or lower in your case. Somebody who would gain from this, someone who knows that if a Kishen is born and madness sweeps the world he'll be able to rise to prominence. I know you display him on H.P's birthday in your store." Shinigami-sama said.

"Cthulhu? Cthulhu has been pulling the strings, he's a fictional character damn it how could he be doing that."

"I'll give you a hint Mr. Shroyer, row 3 of your DVD shelf should hold the clues you need." Shinigami-sama said.

"I'll call Crona and have her take a look. You should rest, we'll discuss more tomorrow. For now I'll keep this in mind." Steve said. Shinigami-sama leaned in his chair.

_Cell 222_

"Ms. Gorgon I assume you know why you're here?" Steve said.

"You fucked up this time boy." She said.

"Maybe, maybe not. The way I see it you are going to be tried by a Meister-Weapon Tribunal and possibly be sentenced to death, so you have nothing to lose." Steve said.

"What are my charges?" Medusa asked. Kami stepped out of the shadows.

"Endangering the populace, conspiracy to unleash madness, providing dangerous substances to promote madness, shall I continue?" Kami said.

"Fuck you, cunt." Medusa said. Kami slapped her in the face.

"That was for my daughter, you snake whore!" Kami hissed.

"Your daughter has a tight little twat you know that. She used to scream so loud when I put myself in her. She'd beg for it. She liked it in the ass too, you know your daughter was quite a. . ." Medusa was slapped harder by Kami.

"Don't you ever talk about Maka that way again, one more word out of you and I'll cut your dick off!" Kami shouted.

"Kami!, relax! Go outside for a moment I'll take it from here." Steve said. Kami slammed the wooden door shut.

"Forgive her Ms. Gorgon, she is very protective of her daughter. I want you to know I can probably get Shinigami-sama to lessen your charges and maybe save your life. But you must cooperate, I need some information about a woman, your boss. Her name is Mabaa, does that ring a bell?" Steve said.

"What do you want to know?" Medusa said.

"How she fits into this so called Cthulhu Group." Steve said.

"Despite what you have heard Mr. Shroyer, it wasn't theme restaurants they were planning to build. Or should I say the restaurants had a special room in them. These were sort of Vacation spots for H.P Lovecraft fans. You pay a fee you go into the room and you travel." Medusa said.

"Travel to where?"

"R'lyeh, where he lives, where he waits dreaming. He won't leave though, nothing has drawn him out of his slumber. That will soon change."

"Jesus, are you meaning to tell me that this whole Cthulhu thing is a subtext for something much larger. Get to the point lady, where does Mabaa fit in?" Steve said.

"She has the book, The Necronomicon, she can open the gate. With your help though." Medusa said.

"How am I involved?" Steve said.

"Someone higher than you at Kent sold you out, we are developing a much stronger technology than yours now. Bad stuff is going to happen in the next 18 days, really bad stuff. I suggest you leave town." Medusa said. Steven didn't have to ask who sold him out he just walked out of the cell and dialed Crona.

_Steve's Apartment_

"Okay dad, shelf three, end modern classic horror begin film series horror. We have all the Halloweens, three Jason's, three Freddy's and one Chucky. Anything else?"

"Which Freddy's do I own?" Steve asked.

"One, Freddy VS Jason, and the 2010 remake. I checked your wish list on amazon and you want 2-7 but that would fill up shelf three and you'd have to move the last two movies."

"'Wes Craven's New Nightmare' fiction coming to life. That's what Shinigami-sama meant." Steve said and hung up the phone and dialed the Lance's cell."

"What's up?" Lance said.

"Lefton sold us out, the goddamn son of a bitch sold us out to the enemy. I need you to call our hacker friend in Kent and see if we can trace some finances. I want names and numbers, look for any transfers going to Providence Rhode Island under the name Howard Philips Lovecraft."

TBC


	30. Day 12 part 5

30 Days

Day 12 Part 5

_Author's note: I know for one person this story is getting confusing. Has anyone here read William Gibson? He has numerous plot lines that over arch until they reach a unified plot. This story is kind of like his only consider it like the movie Mulholland Drive where there are clues to figuring out what is really going on. I must ask for those that are confused to look for clues and make your own assumptions on what really is going on? Is it Cthulhu? Is it all a joke, only I know and I'm not telling-Steve?_

"Lefton gave 200,000 dollars to a man named H.P Lovecraft on August 28 2010. It was a supposed research grant." Lance said slapping a document down on Steve's desk.

"What about our equipment? Our tech?" Steve said.

"I brought up the contract we signed with the psych department. We have sole ownership and patent rights on the equipment, Lefton can't touch it." Lance said.

"So we're back at square one. Someone is trying to re awaken Cthulhu and Soul Evans is involved." Steve said and slammed his fist on the desk.

"That's another thing I need to tell you. Cthulhu is dead. His soul was consumed in 1937 by a scythe-meister team from California. Medusa is feeding you bullshit." Lance said.

"Okay what the hell is going on here? I get told one thing then the truth is another, thing. There has to be something here worth me not being at my job." Steve said.

"What about the thing Shinigami-sama told you about the movie?" Lance said.

"Nothing is making sense, not even that. Lance, give me some time to think here then I'll have the team reconvene when I got some sort of idea out. For now, go to the store and get things set up for the guest reading we are having next week." Steve said. Lance shrugged and walked out of the office.

_Maka and Soul's Apartment._

Maka sat in the living room reading "Population Zero" by Wrath James White. She had been turned on to Mr. White's social commentary infused splatter by Mr. Shroyer who managed to keep tons of scary books in stock, even obscure ones from small presses. She had been home for almost the entire day. Soul was going to get tickets to a book signing at Shroyer and James and was picking up a pizza for dinner. For now the sunlight was fading, and happiness washed over her like a wave. It was then she heard a sound like a little girl crying. Maka got up from the chair and walked toward the sound. It was in her bathroom and there were snarls coming from the room as well. Opening the door she saw Free on top of Angela, raping the young witch. The girl was screaming, Free turned around and looked at Maka.

"Do ya mind? Shut the damn door!" Maka slammed the door shut as the screams and snarls filled the apartment, crouching down she placed her hands over her ears and began to weep. It was just then the front door opened.

"Maka," Soul shouted, "I got the Pizza. Peperoni Lovers with extra cheese like you said. Maka? You there?" Maka raced toward Soul.

"Free is in our bathroom raping that witch. He's raping little Angela! Can't you hear it?" Maka said. The silence was almost eerie.

"I don't hear a thing, Maka, are you sure you're okay? I can call Stein." Soul said.

"It must be PTSD or something. I'm fine. Let's eat." Maka said and walked over to the table as Soul set the Pizza down.

_Shibusen Academy_

"What I'm saying is there is some kind of mass conspiracy that none of us know. Mass hysteria, call it what you will but since day four of this whole thing stranger and stranger shit has been going on." Steve said.

"Calm down," Kami said, "you have been pushing yourself too hard." Steve laughed.

"No shit Dick Tracy, the only clue I have is a name, and a movie and some kind of scheme involving the two. Other than that I got nothing." He said.

"Look maybe we shouldn't have brought you on. I mean you and your friend's technology is important but right now we need to focus on what the next 18 days mean for Soul and Maka." Kami said.

"Maybe, look I am going to go home and rest. I'll call you when I think of something." Steve said and walked out of the office and headed towards the door.

_Cell 222_

Medusa sat in her cell thinking, she rarely thought but she needed to think. Mifune was a problem, but he hid the truth. Killing him so Shroyer could not get the real story was important. Mabaa was angry with the black blood attempts of 2008 and she sure as hell wanted to see how real human madness was before she could formulate a plan. She'd soon stop on Maka; Maka was a meister, more than human. Shroyer was just a normal guy, the type they needed. So they edited Mifune's file, told the President of the University to give money to a fake account, brought in two students whose parents nearly lost it all when Leeman Brothers collapsed and the housing bubble burst, Shinigami-sama was complicating matters for all of them. How to kill the specter of death, you couldn't it would always come back. This was going to be fun for everyone when he finally breaks down, Medusa thought.

_Steve's Apartment_

"The Wrath James White tickets, are they selling?" Steve said.

"Like hotcakes, Soul bought two for him and Maka." Crona said.

"Good, glad to hear it. Crona, I have a question?" he said.

"Yeah dad?" She asked.

"If was going crazy and it was an external matter you'd know right?" He said.

"I know you take medication for mental illness but I don't see why you'd suffer from madness." She said and took a bite of her cubed steak.

"I guess you're right. I guess some things will never change." He said and put his plate in the sink. He walked over to his office and shut the door. Looking at his computer an unfinished manuscript was on the screen, the title was called "30 Days."

Mabaa sat in her library and looked over Mifune's original file. The moon had rose, Midnight was fast approaching. The plan's wheels were turning. In 30 Days she'd have her Kishen, the scythe wasn't the only Kishen she was going to have. Sure his black blood was gone but the Scythe was doomed to his fate, no one knew that. The black blood would return in full force on Day 30 transmitted by the Madness of a mortal. She held Steve's picture in her hand.

"You don't know what you're doing, but soon you'll make me a little Kishen out of a Death Scythe, bookworm!"

_TBC_


	31. Day 13

30 Days

Day 13

Steve shook the pills out of the bottle and into his palm. 20 Milligrams Prozac and 2 Milligrams Risperdal were washed down with a gulp of orange juice. He hated the pills but ever since adolescence he had to take them. He had a doctor he went to see on occasion and the three month visit date was coming due. Right now Steve had a lot on his plate; the manuscript he wrote while at Kent mirrored what was going on but not exactly, and Crona knew something but what was it? Sitting at the table he heard Crona's footsteps down the hall into the kitchen.

"You're up early Steve." Crona said. Steve waved her off. "Problems at work?" She continued

"You're a good liar Crona." Steve said. Crona looked at him with wide eyes.

"What are you talking about?" She said.

"Don't fucking lie to me Crona. You know something about what's going on here and you know it." Steve said slamming his fist on the table.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" You're throwing a shit fit over nothing." She said.

"Your mother has something planned for me, her and her entire crew. I have a feeling you know exactly what is going on." He said.

"What? That you are losing your mind because of some sort of madness wave? Steve I think it's time you upped the dosage pal." Crona said. Steve raced towards her and clamped his hands on her throat.

"If you don't tell me what I need to know I'll fucking end you!" Steve shouted. Crona kicked him in the groin causing him to collapse and fall to the floor.

"You bastard! Don't ever touch me like that again! I suggest you sit down and let your meds work or I will gouge out your eyes and skull fuck you. I put up with Medusa I don't need to put up with your shit!" Crona shouted. Steve lay on the floor weeping in both physical and emotional pain.

Maka lay next to Soul, his hair shining in the sunlit room. Maka couldn't remember why she saw what she saw that night but she knew the black blood was not a possibility. She ran her fingers over his scar and traced it with her index finger, letting herself bathe in his masculinity. Soul was different somehow, something about him made her heart flutter. Soul turned his head and smiled at her.

"I love you Maka." He said.

"Ditto." Maka said and kissed him on the lips. Soul wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes feeling her warmth and running his fingers through her blond hair. The sun rose in Death City, and they both were at peace.

Spirit set the hard drive down on Kami's desk.

"Where did you get that?" Kami said

"I went to Mifune's house and pulled it out of his computer. I was wondering if anyone here knew how to read it?" Spirit said.

"Why? We've come to the conclusion that Mifune had a report already printed out and it tells us all we need to know." She said.

"Always bull headed weren't you Kami?" Spirit said. Kami took the hard drive and hooked it up to one of the Lab's computers. Clicking on the Microsoft Office document she scanned it.

"Why is Steve's name in here instead of Soul's?" Kami said.

"Because Steve is the one they're after, a prime madness candidate." Spirit said and slapped a file on her desk.

"These are Steve's medical records. Where in the hell did you get those?" Kami said her voice conveyed her outrage.

"I got them from Patricia Morrison, his doctor here in Death City." Spirit said.

"Morrison was a nurse here wasn't she?" Kami said.

"Medusa used a fake name and body to get in here. The real Morrison works at a clinic here in Death City." He said.

"Asperger's, generalized anxiety disorder, this is a cocktail for trouble. Is he on meds?" She asked.

"Yes he is. This morning he put his hands on Crona and then didn't report to work until two hours later so you can see how well they work. Black Blood could negate those meds."

"We need to have his wavelength tested. Call Marco and Rachel and tell them to meet me in the lab in an hour. Wavelengths were their specialty."

"You put your hands on Crona? Steve, what the fuck!" Lance said as he set up the new Deadite Press display in the front window. "We could have used her help today." He continued.

"The meds aren't working like they should anymore. Makes me wonder if I should just say fuck it and commit myself." Steve said

"I think something is off about you, really I do. Marco called anyway and they want you at Shibusen for some sort of screening?" Lance said.

"What do you mean screening?" Steve said.

"He just said there are some things they need to screen you for that's all." Lance said.

"Say I go there, what are they gonna do to me?" Steve said

"Just go Steve, I'll mind the store." Lance said and Steve left the store.

"We're just concerned about your wavelength." Marco said.

"Fuck you," Steve said, "just because I have one little shit fit I get called in here for an examination. Next thing you want to tell me is that you want to sodomize me with gaming mouse."

"Steve we have new evidence that shows that you have a problem that may endanger the group. We just want to look at you and see what we can do." Rachel said.

"Eat me!" Steve said Rachel grabbed his arm as he was trying to leave and jabbed a syringe in his arm. Steve winced and then soon felt sleepy. Eyelids growing heavy, his body collapsed to the floor and he fell asleep.

"Take him to the lab and lets have a look at him." Marco said Rachel looked at the black blood dot where the needle hit his arm and began to worry.


	32. Day 13 part 2

30 Days

Day 13 Part 2

"Are the restraints necessary?" Lance said walking into the lab.

"For our safety Mr. James we must have him restrained." Kami said as Lance hooked up the monitors; Marco and Rachel stood next to the table and looked at Steve.

"Are we ready to rock and roll here?" Marco said.

"Yes," Lance said, "just try not to blow any breakers with all this shit." Marco stood next the machine as Rachel waved the wand over Steve's chest. An image of a bright red glowing soul appeared.

"Oh, that's not good." Rachel said under her breath.

"That's, that's a Kishen soul right?" Lance said.

"Not just a plain old Kishen Soul, this one has about the same wavelength as Asura." Marco said looking at the computer.

"This is insanity, how could Steve have a Kishen soul?" Lance said.

"It depends," Kami said, "how long have you known him?"

"Years, we worked at Rosie's together! This isn't possible." Lance said.

"We are going to have to put him in quarantine until we are sure he's okay." Kami said. Just then the sounds of straining leather could be heard.

"Shit," Marco said looking at Steve, who was now thrashing madly on the table, "He's coming out of it!" The bonds snapped and Steve bolted up.

"MMM, such fresh souls, I must have them!" Steve hissed. A bit of saliva trickled from his mouth.

"Stop, kishen!" Rachel shouted. Steve leapt into the air and crawled on the ceiling, the door flew open. Crawling into the hallway, Marco and Rachel gave chase. Steve stood at the end of the hallway. Rachel had Marco in his weapon form and was aiming the bladed revolver at the new kishen.

"I don't want to do this. If you come back with us, we can help you." Rachel said. Steve stalked over to Rachel; he willed his fingernails into blades. Rachel fired the weapon; Steve still moved forward and with a raking motion clawed her chest. Rachel coughed and dropped Marco. The weapon skidded across the floor and transformed. Steve dashed off, Marco gave chase but he couldn't find him in the blazing Nevada sun. He raced back to Rachel, her body weak, blood was pooling around her.

"Mar-co," Rachel said her voice frail and small.

"Hang on babe." He said.

"I am so sorry this happened, I never should have come here." She said.

"It's okay just hold on, "He turned and shouted down the hall, "Someone call an ambulance!" Rachel smiled.

"I can see a bright light Marco, I know you don't believe, but I see a light." Rachel said.

"No, don't, please. You're all I have!" Marco said. Rachel smiled and closed her eyes. Marco clutched her body and screamed.

Soul and Maka sat on the couch watching Food Network. It was a particularly interesting episode of "Chopped –All Stars" Maka snickered at Duff from "Ace Of Cakes" gagging from the smell of canned haggis. Just then a knock came at the front door.

"It's probably Black Star." Soul said picking up his humming cell phone. Maka went to the door.

"Who is it?" She said.

"Mr. Shroyer, from the bookstore?" The raspy voice said, making a wet slurping sound.

"Maka I'd stay away from the door." Soul said.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because there is a Kishen alert from Shibusen, and it so happens to be the guy at the door." He said. Soul got up and walked over to her.

"I think I need you for this Soul, his wavelength is awfully familiar." Maka said. Soul transformed into a scythe and Maka stood at the ready.

"Maka, please open the door." Steve said.

"No, go away." She shouted. Steve rattled the door.

"Little pig, little pig, let me in." Steve said in a sing song tone. Maka stood silent.

"Not by the hair of your chinny chin chin?" He continued.

"Then," he shouted, I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!" Steve then kicked the door down. "Merry Christmas, ho, ho , ho!" he said. Maka couldn't feel the wavelength of her partner. Soul's blade began to drip black blood.

"What the hell?" Maka shouted. Soul turned into his human form and walked over to Steve.

"Good boy, Soul. Now let's hit the road, there are many things we need to do in places unseen." Steve said. watched as her partner walked off with the kishen.

"Soul, Soul, come back!" Maka shouted. Maka sunk to the ground in tears, her partner was lost to madness.

_Hospital 12:39 A.M_

Death City General was quiet. Marco sat by Rachel's bed she was on her sixth unit of blood. Lance, Kami and Stein stood behind him, they were having a quiet meeting in this somber setting. Soul Evans was gone, maybe a kishen and now another much stronger kishen was on the loose.

"I didn't know he had it in him." Lance said.

"Neither did I, he was such a nice guy." Kami said. Just then a noise came from the doorway, guards had their weapons drawn at a man that looked awfully familiar.

"What the fuck is going on? I have been outta here for two days and I get this shit?" It sounded like Steve. Kami's cell phone rang she went to the corner to answer it as Lance and Stein went to the door.

"Steve?" Lance said looking at the bookstore owner.

"No shit, Dick Tracy! care to tell me what the fuck is going on?" Steve said, he was wearing a shirt that said "Deadite Press" and held a copy of Brian Keene's "Take the Long Way Home" in his hand.

"We thought you were a Kishen?" Lance said.

"I was in Portland for Bizarro-Con, I was securing some more books for our store. What the fuck is going on?" Steve said. Kami appeared at the door.

"We need to get to Shibusen, like fast." She said.

"Why?" Stein said. Kami showed him a picture on her phone. It was of the ninja Shinji. His skin was all that was left.


	33. Day 14

30 Days

Day 14

"I come back from a business trip; I leave you people alone for two days, two days, and look what I get into. What the fuck is wrong with you people? It's like I'm working with the Keystone Cops!" Steve shouted as he paced back and forth in the conference room.

"We didn't know it wasn't you, Steve." Lance said.

"So you don't bother to run a neuro-ID scan to find out if it's me? You know better than that." Steve said.

"The question still remains, how did he assume your form?" Stein said.

"I have no idea," Steve said, "my consciousness file should be still in the system. Lance, run a search for the file in the network." Lance typed feverishly into his laptop.  
"Fuck Me! Steve, we got a worm." He said.

"A worm? Like a computer worm? Run operating sequence 220-102, that should flush it out." Steve said. Lance typed in the code and watched as the computer began to shut down and reboot.

"You put your consciousness into a computer program?" Kami said.

"Yes, it was for a project to see if we could create higher levels of consciousness. We were in beta when Lefton shut us down. Luckily I still had my file backed up. "Steve then looked at the people around him.

"Okay, here's the game plan: Lance, enter in source code 201343-99; Kami I need you to bring me lists of every class here and their attendance record. If I think who I believe to be involved we need to know for sure; Stein, look for security flaws, anything that could've got us in this mess. As for me I have to go to the hospital. Marco needs all the support he can get right now." Steve said and walked towards the door. It was going to be a long day.

Maka sat on the couch, clutching a picture of Soul to her chest. Tears flowed like a flood down her cheeks. The knock on the door startled her. Slowly she got up and walked to the door, hoping it was him. Opening the door she found Black Star standing in the hallway a brown paper sack in his hand.

"I got the alert, Tsubaki and the Thompsons are out so I thought I'd stop by. I brought some Cream Sticks from the Bakery downtown. Can I come in?" he said. Maka let him in and he sat on the couch, the bag crinkled as he sat it on the table.

"Would you like some milk?" Maka said in a petal soft tone.

"Sure, I'll get it." Black Star said and walked over to the kitchen.

"Word is that Shroyer was in Portland the last two days, some kind of indie fiction convention, they say the one that came to your door was Asura himself."

"How is that possible, he's dead?" Maka said.

"Stranger shit has happened," He held up his glass, "cheers." He said and took a swig of his milk. Maka took a bite of her maple cream stick and looked at Black Star.

"I know this seems odd but, I need to find Soul, I need to know where he is going and why. I was wondering if you could, help me." Maka said.

"Why me," Black Star said.

"I know you had some training, specific training outside of our unit. Psychocyber something or another. All I know is it can track Soul and I need to get to him before something bad happens."

"You mean that computer training? I still have the programs installed on my iPod. "Black Star pulled out his iPod touch and tapped a square with a brain on it. Taping on the screen, he brought up a portable Neural GPS. "Says here they are in Truth or Consequences, that's 699 miles from here, how they got there from here is beyond me." He said.

"Take me there, I need to get to Soul before whatever happens, happens." Maka said.

"We'd need to get Shinigami-sama's approval first and I doubt he'd give it to us." Black Star said.

"If we tell him it's a mission we can get there. Please Black Star, I need some help." She said.

"Okay, let's go, but if he says no don't be disappointed." Black Star said and got up. Maka put on her long coat and followed him, hoping they would get there in time.

Marco sat next to Rachel, holding her hand and staring intently off into space. Steve's light tapping on the door frame drove him out of his trance.

"Hey," Steve said, "How's she holding up?"

"She's on her twelfth unit of blood. Her count is rising; the doctors think she'll be okay. Look Steve-"Marco said but Steve cut him off.

"This is my fault Marco. I have been thrust into this and I have handled it poorly. I told Lance that I was going to Bizarro-con last week but something must have happened. He would never forget things like that. Can you forgive me?" Steve said.

"Steve, this is all so strange for me too. I mean I am Soul Evans and the Thompson Girls half-brother! How do you think I feel? One day I am a novelist, the next day I am in a hospital with my wife on the edge of death." Marco said.

"Whoa, back that truck up here. You have relatives in this town?" Steve said.

"I'm adopted." he said.

"Shit, that sucks. How are you handling all this without blowing your brains out?" Steve said.

"One day at a time." Marco said, Steve's phone rang, he reached into his pocket.

"Yo." Steve said.

"I have some news on the data front," Kami said, "I have looked over the attendance records for Ox and Havar. They called the education department's office two days ago claiming to have H1N1. Stein also found that the security cameras shut off mysteriously in the computer lab and a Jeffery T. Montague's key card was used to gain entry. Montague is a guard for the jail here on campus and his card was stolen while he napped. Guess who the guard house cameras picked up?"

"Ox, that son of a bitch!" Steve said.

"We're bringing him in for questioning, we want you there." Kami said.

"I'm on my way." Steve said.

_Truth or Consequences New Mexico_

The blood made dark splotches on the turquoise carpet of the motel front desk. The faint coppery odor, filled the desert air and trails of it led to a room on the far end of the complex. Inside a white haired boy and a man with brown hair lay on the bed watching a rerun of Law and Order SVU passing a bowl of souls between them. They had close to 1500 miles to cover and not a lot of time to do it.


	34. Day 14 Part 2

30 Days

Day 14 Part 2

Ox Ford sat in the interrogation room twiddling his thumbs. He had been pulled out of class for an interview with some bookstore owner who was leading an investigation into the "Soul Evans Incident" and now his nerves were firing at full blast. Steve stepped into the room and slapped a file folder on the table, letting out a sigh.

"I want my attorney." Ox said.

"Mr. Ford, this is an internal investigation, internal procedures must be followed, and that means no lawyer." He said and sat down, flipping open the file and pulling out a screenshot of the security camera footage.

"Ring any bells?" Steve said.

"No, none at all." Ox Said. Beads of sweat were visible on his balding head.

"Don't pull that bullshit on me. That's you breaking into the security office and stealing a key card. You used that, to free a certain person and hack into my personal records. Now I don't get violent very often but you best start telling me what the fuck is up or I will not hesitate to gouge out your eyeballs and skull-fuck you!" Steve shouted.

"You caught me. So what, it's not going to change anything, Maaba will still have her kishen and you all will be doomed. I suggest you call my lawyer if you want to talk to me further." Ox said. Steve leapt across the table and slammed Ox against the wall his eyes filled with furious fire.

"Now listen here you little cocksucker, We have sufficient evidence to kick you and Havar out of Shibusen, there are no other schools like this in the world, so your chances of becoming some big fucking hero are zero, my friend. If you don't want me to go to Shinigami-sama personally with this I suggest you start talking. In case you haven't noticed or are too fucking stupid, this is personal for me. I don't take too kindly to people stealing my identity and almost killing one of my friends." Steve hissed.

"This is bigger than anything you could imagine, I won't tell you anything unless you give me some kind of compensation." Ox said.

"That's it," he shouted, two guards walked into the room "Ox Ford you are hereby under arrest for rule violation 213-A, conspiracy to unleash madness and mayhem. You will be placed in administrative segregation until a disciplinary committee decides whether to expel you." Steve said. Ox placed his hands behind his back and was lead out of the room. Steve reached in his pocket and pulled out two aspirin and dry swallowed them. He went outside where Kami was waiting for him with a print out.

"We got some bad news," Kami said and handed Steve the paper; "The entire staff and guests of a motel on the outskirts of Truth or Consequences New Mexico were killed. All had slash marks on their chests; the last person to check in was a Mr. Saiga, that name ring a bell?" Steve looked at her.

"It's the name of a character from 'Speed Grapher' one of my favorite animes. I would use that name when I would," He paused, then looked at her. "Kami, I want you to call the police chief there, tell him to send me the coroners reports. If it is Soul and Asura then they are long gone by now." Steve walked toward the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of Stein's bitter brew.

Maka left Shinigami-sama's office feeling dejected. Her request had been flatly denied, it didn't matter though, and the duo was on the move. Black Star was at home on his computer working on some kind of computer program that would give them the ability to see Asura and Soul in action. She opened the door of her apartment and sat down on the couch. Tears flowed down her face with an immense fury.

"How could you betray me?" Maka whispered to herself, her voice choked with sobs. She looked around the living room, happier times surrounded her. She wanted to smash those pictures, yet something was compelling her not to do it. Her love was that strong for him. She knew there was no going back for Soul. If he consumed any innocent souls he would develop a kishen egg no doubt about it. Maka feared she had lost him, her fears grew larger hour as she spent her time in the diming light of the living room. It was then the phone rang. Picking it up, she heard a familiar voice.

_Steve Shroyer's apartment 8:00 PM_

He didn't know where he was, all he could remember was Steve coming to his apartment and leaving with him. He felt a cool, wet sensation on his head, the feeling of a wet cloth.

Crona had found him outside of Steve's apartment, his fever running high. How he wound up so far from his home was a mystery to her, especially since Steve had information to the contrary. Crona was not dumb. It took her three hours to figure out how to hack into the Shibusen database and find out all the late breaking information. She used one of his computer programs to identify who it was and then managed to put the pieces together. Her mother had done this, no doubt about it. She had done something to him while he was captured. She had to tell someone, the question is who would believe her?

_Shibusen Investigation HQ 11:50 A.M_

"She just came in here Spirit, ranting about Soul and some kind of experiment. Then she passed out!" Steve said. Spirit Albarn walked into the lounge and looked at his daughter lying on the couch.

"What did she say? Did she mention anything, code names anything like that?" He said.

"She said something about 'Project Excalibur' whatever the hell that is." Steve said.

"Not good." Spirit said.

"Why, what the fuck is it?" He said.

"Excalibur is the world's greatest weapon. He also suffers from a rare mental disorder DIND or Dissociative Identity Narcissistic Disorder. It's when you have multiple identities and delusions about yourself and your life. Project Excalibur was meant to separate the different parts of Excalibur to cure him. If someone has used that technology then there's going to be a huge mess." Spirit said.

"Why, what could it do to Soul?" Steve said.

"It would split his dark side from him. If Soul had this done, then there's another Soul Evans out there, just as deadly and real. If what I think happened, then we're all doomed." He said.

"Why?" Steve said.

"Because there are now two powerful kishens on the loose and they are not going to stop till they get to Zanesville." Spirit said.

"Zanesville, Ohio? What's there?"

"Something we've tried to keep hidden for years." He said.

Somewhere in a medical complex in Zanesville Ohio a crate begins to rock back and forth. In the crate is something old as time. A being of chaos, his vanquisher now lives a peaceful existence in a small suburban desert city. His Name is Lucifer, and his time is going to come.

"_And I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, come and see and I saw, and behold, a white horse." Revelations 6:1-2_


	35. Day 15

30 Days

Day 15

Project Excalibur had been used once and only that. The idea that a person could be bombarded with numerous soul wavelengths was absurd but those who tried to cure the penguin looking bastard thought it was a good idea at the time. Steve sat in his office watching the footage from the lab. Soul was blank, his face devoid of all emotion, the thing that was Asura injected him with a clear blue solution and ushered him into a small chamber. Flipping the switch Soul thrashed back and forth screaming in pain. Then an arm formed out of his side, it gripped the walls of the chamber blindly. Soul's cries grew louder as the head made its way out, mewling. Soul collapsed to the floor, blood trickled out of his side as the clone stood naked in front of Asura. They embraced in a passionate kiss and then the entity walked over and put on Soul's clothes. Steve's mouth was agape.

"I don't believe this shit." Steve said. Kami placed a hand on his shoulder making him jump.

"Believe it, Steve. Crona called, Soul's at your apartment he had a fever and was delirious but he's stable I sent Stein to look at him. She said.

"Maka going with him?" He said.

"She's on her way. There's something that concerns me Steve. I am not a religious person but does the name Lucifer mean anything to you?" Kami said.

"He's a fallen angel, he defied god so he was cast out down to hell. Why?" Steve said

"Do you know that's the father of all Kishens?" She said.

"No." he said.

"Do you know Shinigami-sama himself was an angel?" Kami said.

"What?" Steve said.

"It's true, he was an aid to Archangel Michael and he sent Shinigami-sama down to here to prepare the fight, the one that will prevent The Rapture."

"Wait, wait, wait. I read the book of Revelations and there is nothing about that." He said.

"Look, God changed his mind. Once he saw what Shinigami-sama was doing, the bible was finished and it was too late." Kami said.

"How does this tie into Soul and Maka?" Steve said.

"Maka and Soul are going to defeat Lucifer and bring about a new kingdom on earth. He chose them. I know, he told me." Kami said.

"Who?" Steve said.

"The man that died on the thing around your neck." Kami said and picked up Steve's Disciples Cross in her hand.

"I think I am going crazy again?" Steve said.

"Look, go through the book of Revelations and you'll see the clues to this whole thing." Kami said. Steve smiled at her.

"What if I don't want to go completely bugshit crazy?" Kami threw up her hands and left the room. Steve went to his desk and pulled out his bible.

_Steve's Apartment 1:00 A.M_

Maka clasped Soul's hand and watched him sleep. It was burning hot, almost like a fresh cup of coffee. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. His head lay off to the side and his mouth moved, whispering words of fevered dreams. His slim but toned frame was draped in with a sheet. Crona sat with the washcloth at ready.

"He's going to be okay," Stein said. I am going to give him an antibiotic shot to get whatever bug is in him out. It looks like a 24 hour one so he should be fine soon." Soul winced as the needle went into his arm. Maka placed her head in her hands and wept. She heard a hoarse voice speak to her.

"Maka? Maka? Don't cry Maka. I am okay; everything is going to be okay. Please Maka, don't cry." Soul said. His hand brushed her cheek catching a teardrop on his finger. Maka held Soul close breathing in his sweat and rain covered body.

"I'll never leave you, never!" Maka whispered. Crona heard a knock at the door. Getting up from the romantic scene she opened the door and saw Kid standing there with a bouquet of roses.

"I am sorry for dropping in so late, are you busy?" he said.

"No, I was just watching after Soul, Maka is here too." Crona said and looked at the flowers.

"They're for you." Kid said. The girl began to weep.

"I am sorry; I just don't know how to deal with things like this." Crona said. Kid placed his finger on her lips to hush her. Then pressed his lips against hers. Their kiss was passionate, Kid sucked on Crona's tongue making her shudder. Kid took Crona's hand and smiled.

"I love you." He said. Crona took him to her bedroom. Kid laid her on the bed and kissed her again making soft circles around Crona's nipples making her gasp. She raised her hand and unbuttoned his blazer feeling the smooth pale skin underneath.

"Please Kid, would you, would you be my first?" Crona said. Kid was taken aback at the comment but still Crona was so beautiful. He unbuttoned his pants and slid his boxer briefs down. His member stood at attention. Crona took off her dress and let him climb on top of her. His member pressed against her opening. He kissed her deeply and then moved down to her sex. Licking the clear honey that flowed out of her made Crona gasp and squirm, her breathing grew heavy. Kid pressed himself against her sex. He felt resistance but then again she was a virgin.

"This may hurt a bit." He said

"Be gentle." Crona said. Kid slid himself in making Crona gasp in pain and letting a small stream of blood flow from her.

"Did I hurt you?" He said.

"The pain is going away, please move slowly though." Crona said. Kid made slow but deep thrusts inside her making her gasp and moan. She begged him to go harder and he amped up the pace. He held her tight thrusting harder and deeper. He was about to reach his limit, He pulled himself out and released on her abdomen. He stimulated her more until she climaxed. Kid was about to get dressed when Crona looked at him.

"Cuddle next to me, Please Kid?" Crona said. Kid smiled and held Crona close to him, the scent of their passion mingling with her perfume lulling him to sleep.

"No way," Steve said, "No fucking way." He had found a connection to Shibusen in the bible and now he was frantically scanning the internet for information. It all had to do with the "Sevens" in Revelations. There are seven seals, seven angels and seven trumpets, and seven top meisters in Shibusen. He also learned something else, something about Crona. There was a reason she didn't have a father, a big one. Her mother said she was raped, but Steve knew better. He shut his laptop off and went home hoping to find more information.

Medusa knew, she always knew. She knew who she was a descendant of and who she was giving birth to. As she contemplated what the future held for her, she remembered what Maaba had said about becoming a witch.

"You can't go back." Medusa said. A voice spoke to her.

"Yes you can Medusa, let me show you the way." A white light streamed into her cell and he appeared. The Man was dressed in white robes and handed her a leather bound book. She knew what chapters to read and how to get herself out of this mess. It wasn't easy being the descendant of The Son of God.

_TBC_


	36. Day 16

30 Days

Day 16

Medusa had hung herself in her cell. Steve was the first to find out when he received the call early in the morning. He had just got dressed when the phone rang. Kami went on a long and rambling story of a strange white robed man in her cell and bible passages scrawled all over the wall. Steve didn't have time to wake Crona, so he went to Shibusen with his file of research and his thoughts racing.

"This is the security footage," Kami said, "looks like she got a divine visit." Steve stared at the screen.

"Scan the wavelengths in the room." Steve said and Kami clicked on the video. Two red souls appeared on the screen. "That isn't Jesus, hon." He said and typed on the computer. A name came up. Judas Iscariot was the other wavelength, Steve turned to Kami.

"Get the group into the meeting room, we need to discuss something." He said and walked off, he knew something was up.

_Zanesville, Ohio_

Harold Farmer sat in his cell. The former Christian radio show host was humming a hymn as the guards shuffled on by blissfully ignorant of what he was planning. The thing was in the basement, he knew it was the fallen angel Lucifer was in the basement, he just needed to bring him some souls to make him more powerful. It was then the screaming began on in the ward.

The razor sharp scythe and bisected anyone and everyone that had come in contact with it. A nurse sat on the floor, her entrails flowing out of the lower half of her body. A guard's head had been split lite a Pez dispenser, and the patients on the ward had begun mutilating themselves. Gouging their eyes with forks and banging their heads on the wall singing "What a friend we have in Jesus" By the time the slaughter ended, 250 souls were hanging in mid-air. Harold's door slid open. There stood the brown haired man from his dreams and his snow white hared partner.

"Peace be with you." Asura said. Harold walked out of the cell and began grabbing souls to take downstairs.

_Death City_

"Okay so what do we know," Steve said, "We know that Medusa is not related to Jesus, DNA proves that, not related to Judas either, and so whatever happened in her cell remains a mystery. Now here is what I found out from my research," Steve clicked the next slide, "We found that there are a total of 7 weapons and meisters in the elite unit. Seven appears numerous times in the book of Revelations. How many of you are familiar with Harold Farmer?" Kami spoke up.

"The nut who predicted the apocalypse in 1994?" She said.

"That's him," Steve said, "Now Mr. Farmer is in a medical facility in Zanesville Ohio after he slaughtered his entire radio staff believing god told him to. Now I have some photos here," he clicked the next slide where a series of charcoal drawings came up, "These look familiar?" Steve said.

"That's Soul, Maka, Kid; it's the whole fucking unit." Spirit said.

"Exactly," Steve said, "Mr. Farmer has never met these kids in his life and yet he draws them like they are right there. Why? Here's what I figure. Number one: The Last stop recorded for Soul and Asura was Zanesville Ohio, so Farmer has a connection to them. Number two: Farmer is an apocalypse nut; this could have something to do with his beliefs. Finally number three: There was a rail car from Death City containing a fallen angel; I believe it was Lucifer, which derailed near Zanesville. If I am thinking what I believe is going to happen, then Mr. Farmer has a plan to make his ideas a reality. I need to send a team to Zanesville to check on this." Steve said.

"We'll go," Marco said, "Rachel has healed up nicely and we should be able to leave tonight if possible. " Steve nodded.

"There we go, now let's get back to work. Madness doesn't take a holiday." Steve said and walked out.

_Shroyer and James Books_

Crona had managed to open the store on time, Kid had decided to stay and help while the two owners were at Shibusen pulling double duty as investigators. Crona looked at the black haired boy standing at the edge of the store admiring the Deadite Press shelf, and looking at the posters advertising new releases.

"Why does Steve sell these kinds of books?" Kid said.

"You mean the indie horror books?" Crona said.

"Yeah, some of the covers are kinda creepy and bloody." Kid said.

"Steve wanted to start a store that would cater to the Otaku and the Artistic types in Death City. Have you seen the Hentai section? Crona said and watched as Kid looked over the Hentai, Yuri and Yaoi with trepidation and fear, she giggled. "Something wrong?" She said.

"It's just that Black Star watches these things, Tsubaki hates it. He makes her try some of the stuff out. One time he tied her up and pretended to rape her." Kid said.

"Gross, why would someone do that?" Crona said.

"Some People have rape fantasies I guess," Kid said and walked over to her clasping her hands, "Crona I want you to know that I would never do that to you. My love is too strong and too deep for me to ever do that to you." He said and kissed her deeply. Their passions broken by the sound of the door chime.

"Hello, young lovers." Steve said. Crona looked at him embarrassed. "It's okay, after last night I think you two should be together as often as possible. After all, I saw the blood stain." He said. Crona shuffled her feet. "It's okay, I remember when I was young. You two should be happy you love each other that much." Crona raced over and hugged him.

"What would I do without a dad like you?" She said.

"Go crazy?" Steve said as Crona gave him a peck on the cheek."You can stay as long as you want Kid, we could use the help today, Lance is upgrading Shibusen's computer system." He said and walked over to his office to do some business.

Meanwhile a Shibusen jet flew towards Zanesville with a Weapon and his Meister on board.

_TBC_


	37. Day 17

30 Days

Day 17

Marco and Rachel knew there was something wrong when the coroner mentioned the foam rubber.

This whole thing has been a sham." Marco said. The coroner pushed his glasses on his nose.

"Yep, seems to me some body planned this out really nice." He said. Rachel sighed.

"No demon is the basement either. This is a dead end all around." She said. The sounds of rattling gurneys made their way into the morgue.

"Two More," the assistant said, "real ones this time." Marco walked over to the first body and looked. Pulling back the sheet he saw Asura in his new form lying motionless, the Soul clone was on the next one.

"Something is off, way off!" Marco said.

"Agreed," Rachel said, "let's get to the plane; we'll call Steve from there."

_A motel in Death City_

Free lay next to the red haired death scythe, their time of passionate love making over. He nuzzled Spirit's neck, his stubble rough and pleasurable. He knew something was off though, he could sense it in Spirit's body language. He never used to be that way, he was always a ladies man but Spirit knew he had to do this, that is was for a higher plan.

"You okay?" Free said.

"It's a shame," Spirit said, Free looked at him confused.

"What is?" he said. Spirit draped an arm off the bed.

"It's a shame," Spirit said, "That I have to kill you now." Spirit cocked back the hammer on the 44 magnum.

"Whoa, what the fuck man!" Free said as he fell off the bed and scrambled against the wall.

"I have to," Spirit said, "Too many loose ends, I could lose my job." Free held up his hands to block the shot and tried to reason with Spirit.

"Look man, I didn't want this to happen, you came up with most of it!" He shouted.

"Exactly, and if anyone finds out I am screwed. Adios wolf boy!" Spirit said. The bullet connected with the werewolf's head, causing brain and skull to explode on the wall. Spirit got dressed, walked out of the motel room and headed back to Shibusen.

"So they were all dummies? Fake corpses?" Steve said.

"Yeah, someone paid fifteen million to get the patients out of the hospital, our guy was a patsy and he was found dead on State Route 16 with a bullet in his head. Pretty much everyone that we think is involved with the black blood is dead. Somebody is doing a cleansing. "Rachel said.

"You said fifteen mill?" Steve said.

"Yeah, why?" Rachel said.

"Somebody took that much out of a rainy day fund here at the academy, I am having Lance run a search on who has access to it and who used it last." Steve said.

"Steve, I don't like this at all, we could be getting in some shit." She said.

"If we do, we'll clean ourselves off." Steve said and bid them farewell. Lance's computer made a meep sound which meant it found something.

"Hey Steve? Guess who our guy is?" He said.

"Who?" Steve said.

"Spirit Albarn." He said

What? No way." Steve said.

"Yeah, and he also bought a 44 magnum pistol and some special effects equipment." Lance said.

"Oh my god, why would he do that? Lance get me all the security footage from the past 17 days I need them enhanced so I can see any editing, something is off." Steve said and walked to the computers while Lance brought the footage up. Steve closely watched each of the tapes.

"Lance there seems to a lot of filters on the videos' just remove them all." Steve said. Once removed he could see the image of Spirit Albarn; killing Medusa, kidnapping Maka, and breaking into the security office.

"He's behind the whole thing, what the fuck? He set this all up!" Steve said.

"I don't understand?" Lance said.

"He did something, he made us go in all these different directions and all these lost leads were all his doing. I want a scan of all his computers ASAP! I got to talk to Shinigami-sama."

"Steve?" Lance said.

"What?" He shouted.

"Look at this," Lance said and pulled up the last conversation with Shinigami-sama. Running a wavelength scan he found that it wasn't really the death god, but Spirit in disguise. "He's been fucking with us." Steve stood there mouth agape.

"I have to talk to Kami!" Steve said and ran out.

Kami was sitting in her apartment when the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" Walking to the door saw her ex-husband standing there.

"What?" She said.

"I just came to talk, mind if I come in?" Spirit said.

"Make it quick because my stupid bullshit tolerance is at a low level." She said as Spirit walked in." He sat in a plush chair across from her.

"I want to talk about Maka." He said.

"About what, sprit how you are a shitty father it's too little too late for that one." Kami said as she took a sip of her tea.

"No, about her idiot of a boyfriend." Spirit said.

"Why do you say that? I think Soul is a perfect fit for Maka." She said.

"He's a lazy, worthless good for nothing piece of garbage. She should be with someone else." He said. Kami sighed.  
"Spirit, I don't want to discuss this," Just then the phone rang. She picked it up.

"Hello?" She said

"Kami, it's all bullshit, this whole black blood thing is all a sham!" Steve said.

"What do you mean?" She said.

"Spirit is trying to take Soul away from Maka. He gave him the black blood, he is the one who set up all the fake leads, he is doing it all. I don't know why I didn't know this before!" He said.

"I'll be right down, Spirit is coming with me." Kami said.

"What? Is he there with you?" Steve said.

"Yeah, why?" Kami said.

"Kami, get the hell out of there now!" Steve said. The butt of the gun collided with Kami's head. She lay on the floor unconscious the phone in her hand.

"Kami? Kami!" Steve shouted. Spirit hefted her body over his shoulders and took her to his car.

_TBC_


	38. Day 17 part 2 Day 18

30 Days

Day 17 Part 2, Day 18

Steve reached Kami's apartment only to find her missing, her cup of tea still sitting on the edge of an end table. The cordless phone was dead, on the floor where she left it, now Steve was becoming worried. He reached in his pocket and dialed Shibusen. Stein answered the phone.

"Steve, what the hell is going on?" He said as he picked up the phone.

"I forgot you all had caller ID," Steve said, "I'll tell you what's up screw head. What's up is Spirit Albarn has gone rogue and is taking us with him!" Steve said.

"Are you sure," Stein said, "he seems normal."

"Jeffery Dahmer seemed normal too, until that one guy came running out of his apartment naked with handcuffs still attached. Looks are deceiving Stein." Steve said walking down the steps towards his car.

"What do you want us to do?" Stein replied.

"Put out an all-points bulletin throughout Death City, if someone sees him we will scoop him up before he has a chance to fuck up again." Steve said and hung up. He drove back to Shibusen with a sinking feeling in his heart.

Maka and Soul sat on the couch, Soul wrapped in a blanket and Maka using her new Snuggie she had bought on sale at the local Wal-Mart. The AC was a comfort but it could chill the apartment sometimes beyond belief. They were watching the news before Maka's favorite game show Jeopardy came on. She would always like to test herself to see how well she would do on the show, if she ever got on. What came on the TV next would take her thoughts away from quiz shows. A breaking news theme blared from the speakers, and the reporter began to speak as a picture of her father came up.

"Death City Police and the FBI are looking for Spirit Albarn. Albarn is wanted by authorities for several counts of homicide, and conspiracy to spread madness. If you see him please call the Death City police at 666-6666." The reported moved on to the weather as Maka sat there wide eyed and trembling.

"It's all a lie," she said, "He wouldn't do this!" Maka said as wrapped his arms around her and let her sob into his blanket.

"It's okay Maka; it's going to be okay. I'm sure there's an explanation for this." He said stroking her blond hair. The phone rang, sounding twice as loud as anything in that emotional space. Soul answered it.

"Hello?" He said.

"Soul, it's Steve here at Shibusen," the voice answered back.

"You guys just upset Maka; I don't think I need to talk to you." Soul said.

"No, Soul, listen to me. It's all true, we have evidence that corroborates the whole thing was a set up from the start." Steve said.

"Why should I believe you?" Soul said.

"Because he has Kami, he has my girlfriend and Maka's mother. If we don't find him he could get Maka too. I need you both to come here right away so we can begin the process of hunting for him."  
"Why, why should I give a fuck about him or you?" Soul said.

"It takes a death scythe to find a death scythe." Steve said. Soul hung up and looked Maka in the eyes.

"Come on Maka, we got to go to the school, we may have a chance to find your father." He said.

"Really?" Maka said.

"Cool guys don't lie to their girlfriends." Soul said and smiled. Maka kissed him deeply, letting her passion and fear be released. When it stopped Soul looked at her again, she was blushing.

"Don't be embarrassed Maka, we are in love after all. He said. Maka nodded and got up to put on her shoes.

_Day 18_

Kami had not remembered ever being this thirsty. Her head buzzed with sensations of fear and pain. The blood on her head had dried and was flaking off in rusty brown snowflakes; the spot still was tender to the touch. She hadn't remembered much of the night before, except the feeling of Spirit pressing into her and making unwanted love. Had he used protection? She wanted to hope so; the world needed less Spirit Albarn's roaming around making life a living hell. Spirit sat in the corner of the dimly lit room, where she laid, her body tanked up on some tranquilizers he had bought with the money he stole from the academy. He was holding the gun on his lap, his dress shirt was unbuttoned, the candles in the room made soft shadows on his exposed chest. Kami was starting to come off the drugs, and managed to eke out some words from her mind.

"Where, am I?" Kami said.

"You don't know," Spirit said, "We used to come here all the time when we were dating. Remember, the little cabin my parents have on the lake?" Kami looked around, she could make out the wood grain in the dim candle light, and she shuddered.

"Why are you doing this?" Kami said. Her voice choked with sobs.

"You know too much, you and that asshole bookstore owner. Trust me Kami; you would be better off coming back with me. Raising Maka all alone was so hard, and she ended up with that bastard Soul Evans. Had you stayed with me we could have had her go out with a decent boy like Ox or Havar."

"You're fucking mad!" Kami said.

"Maybe," He said, "but you know I am right."

"No," Kami said, "You're just bitter and spiteful about Maka never loving you!" Kami said.

"Shut up!" Spirit said.

"No. If you kept your dick in your pants she would have some respect for you. All you do is fuck around Spirit, that's why I left you and why Maka hates you!"

"Shut up!" He screamed and pulled the hammer back on the gun. Kami got off the bed.

"Admit it, you're a fucking horrible father." She said. Spirit aimed the gun at her. Kami blew out the candle and raced blindly through the room. She tripped over a small storage chest before her hands found the doorknob and she burst out of the room. Racing down the hall she could hear Sprit scream and chase after her. She found the stairs to the lofted bedroom and found the spare bathroom. She hurried in and slammed the door. She quieted he breathing as he began to walk up the steps, their creaking sent shards of fear into her heart. Spirit walked over to the door and began to rattle the knob. The door was locked from the inside, frustrated he slammed his fist against the door.

"You got to come out sometime Kami!" He shouted and walked down the steps. He was right she would have to come out, hopefully when the team would get there.

_TBC_


	39. Day 18 and19

30 Days

Day 18-Day 19

Kami wanted to leave the bathroom. The small closeness of the room coupled with the fact that her legs were cramping from squatting behind the door made her mind scream out for freedom. She finally got that chance when Spirit left the cabin. She could hear the sound of his car engine turning over and the crunch of twigs and dry brush under his car in the quiet. Unlocking the door, she peered through the slit like opening separating it from the molding. No sign of him upstairs, crawling to the railing she looked over and saw the downstairs was vacant. He was gone. Kami stretched out her legs and rubbed bunches of muscle that had formed. She then made her way downstairs hoping the cabin had a phone. Looking in the kitchen she had managed to find a white cordless phone sitting on a wooden perch. She picked it up and dialed Shibusen, praying for a response.

_Shibusen situation room_

Maka and Soul sat in rapt attention as Steve went over the parameters of the Albarn case. The things Steve was talking about blew her mind. Her dad was involved with numerous unsavory characters, even in relationships with them. Pictures flew of Spirit kissing Medusa and Free, holding hands with them at separate occasions. Maka wanted to heave right there.

"So there are the facts," Steve said, "Spirit Albarn has been playing both sides for the past few years. Going insofar as to engage in homosexual activities with a known felon, and his lover, something I know has to come as a surprise for all of you."

"Why would he do this?" Maka said.

"So far, the motive is unknown, what would make someone do this is something we all need to look at." Steve said.

"But why are Maka and I here? All you are doing right now is hurting her feelings, and wasting my time." Soul said.

"We need Maka's 'Soul Perception' technique to help us find out how rogue he has gone. Also we don't have a death scythe powerful enough to take care of him if need be." Steve said

"Now that's not true Steve," Marco said, "Rachel and I are perfectly capable of taking care of him."

"Not enough, I can't let you guys get hurt again." He said.

"So you send the top weapon and meister team to possibly die because you don't want us to get hurt. Very petty, Steve, you've sunk to a new low." Rachel said.

"God damn it, I did not ask for all of you to get involved in this," Steve shouted, "But obviously this school is too concerned with Mickey Mouse bullshit, that they need someone more capable to run it besides an OCD afflicted pig fucker with asymmetrical hair!"

"Steve we wanted to get involved," Lance said, "If we didn't we wouldn't put up with so much."

"Listen here," Steve said, "All of you are either going to do things my way or you can go out the door and return to your shitty little lives. I am running this show."  
"Obviously you are stressed out about Kami," Marie said, "I think you need to take a break."

"Did I ask for your opinion sugar tits?" He shouted. Soul stood up.

"I am not going to sit here and be berated by a narcissistic book store owner." He said and walked out the door, Maka followed behind him. Steve clenched his fists and marched out the door.

Steve shouted at Soul.

"I am too cool to put up with your shit, Maka and I, are going home." Soul said.

"You know what; I bet you look at that blue haired boy's pecker in the showers. What's his name, Black Car?" Steve said.

"Shut the fuck up, if you know what's good for you." Soul said.

"I bet you want to screw him, huh? I bet you really want to just make sweet love to him down by the fire! I bet," Steve couldn't finish before Soul punched him hard in the jaw. He stumbled backwards, nearly falling over on a desk.

"I told you to shut up," Soul said, "I would hit you again but cool guys know when they've had enough." The elevator door closed and the two disappeared from sight. Steve rubbed his jaw, coming to his senses her heard a noise come from the conference room.

"Steve," Stein shouted, "Kami is on the phone!" Steve raced into the room and put the phone on speaker. Lance began typing on his laptop setting up the neural GPS.

"Kami," Steve said, "Oh thank god you're alive!"

"It's great to hear from you too Steve," she said, "Spirit has been keeping me here; It's some cabin in the woods we used to go to. Thank god he's gone."

"Where is he?" Steve said.

"I don't know? His car took of about twenty minutes ago. Look, I really think he has lost it, he did all of this to break up Maka and Soul!" She said.

"Don't worry Kami, we'll send team a team right away. Just hold on!" He said.

"I love you," Kami said, "I can't stop thinking about you, and I just want to know if you love me too?" she said. Steve paused.

"I love you," he said, "more than anything in the world." He began to weep.

"I needed to hear that right now," Kami said "Please hurry." Kami said and hung up the phone.

"Got it," Lance shouted, "She's at a state park near Lake Tahoe, 357 miles from here." Steve looked at his team.

"What are you waiting for people, let's move!" he shouted and watched as they hurried about.

"Steve," Lance said, "I am picking up a signal. There are two people already on their way there."

"Who?" He said.

"Maka and Soul." Lance said.

_Day 19_

Spirit Albarn pulled into the parking lot of Shroyer and James bookstore; he holstered his gun and looked around. No one in sight, good news for him bad news for whoever was in that bookstore. Walking inside he heard the jingle of bells, a sign a customer had come in. The pink haired girl sat on a stool thumbing through a magazine, Spirit knew right away who it was, Shroyer's adopted daughter. The girl looked up.

"Can I help you?" Crona said.

"Yes I am looking for a book and I am wondering if you can help me?" he said.

"Okay, what is it called?" She said, clicking the computer on.

"No Sanctuary by Richard Laymon." Spirit said. Crona typed in the name and let out a hum.

"Well we don't have it in stock, if you want I can order it from a third party and have it shipped here." Crona said.

"I would like that." He said.

"Can I get your name?" she said.

"Jeremy McKenzie," Spirit said, "What's yours?"

"Crona." She said.

"That's a pretty name, a pretty name for a pretty girl." Spirit said.

"Thank you," She said, "Can I have your address?"

"Oh let's not talk about that, how about you and I get some coffee?" Spirit said.

"You're starting to creep me out, and if I don't have an address I can't create an account for you here." Crona said.

"You know with a more revealing outfit you'd get more boys in here. You ever had sex with a boy?" Spirit said.

"Look, either give me an address or leave because I don't have to put up with this." Crona said.

"Where's your dad?" he said.

"He's busy, could you give me an address?" Crona said angrily.

"I bet he's real good to you. He makes you all hot and bothered, turns you on." Spirit said.

"Look," Crona said, "I am going to ask you to leave before I call the cops okay!" Spirit slowly pulled out his gun.

"You and I are going to have some fun." Spirit said raising the weapon towards Crona. She leapt over the counter, spin kicking him in the shins to knock him on the ground. Racing up the steps she made it past the bishojo game section and near the key pad that lead to the safe room. Spirit's steps grew louder and faster. He was almost on her when, the door hissed open and she slammed it shut. Spirit pounded on the door, making deep resounding thuds in the room. Crona pushed the intercom.

"Go away! I am calling the cops!" She said.

"What good are they going to do," Spirit said, "You obviously don't know who I am."

"Who are you then?" Crona said.

"Spirit Albarn," He said, "And you need to know one other thing."

"What?" Crona said.

"I know the pass code to get inside your little hidey hole." Spirit said and began to punch in the code. Crona grabbed the door and held on to it tight, Spirit grabbed ahold and tried to tug it away. Crona mustered her strength to hold on. The tug of war went on for minutes, that seemed like hours before the door finally hissed shut. Spirit walked down the steps and went into Steve's office to root around for anything he could use against the teams unofficial leader. While walking down the steps she could hear his voice, humming a kids song, John Jacob Jinglehymer Schmidt. Crona sat there in fear and felt for her cell phone. It wasn't there. It was then she felt a sick feeling in her stomach. The phone was downstairs with him.

_TBC_


	40. Day 19 and 20

30 Days

Day 19 Day 20

Spirit Albarn was full of shit, anyone, including his ex would attest to that. The truth, that he did not have the code to the safe room, as Crona had been told would have just made her brave. It would ruin the ambiance of his plan and as he sat in the office looking over the files on Steve's computer he couldn't help but feel turned on. Something about that girl, Shroyer's adopted daughter, had aroused lustful feelings inside him. It was a burning desire, similar to the one he had for Maka.

"Maka," Spirit thought, "How papa would love to touch your soft skin and taste its sweetness. Make you scream my name, and never want to leave me again." He rubbed the crotch of his pants. The dirty thoughts subsided when the door chimes tinkled their warning cry. Peeking so slightly from the edge of the door he saw the blond haired co-owner walk in and survey the store.

"Crona," Lance shouted, "Crona why aren't you at the register?" No reply. He walked up the stairs. Spirit slowly emerged from the back room and made his way behind the man.

"Crona," He shouted again, "Steve is going to be pissed if you don't come back down. He told you to mind the store." Spirit's shoes made a soft creak behind Lance. He spun around and was faced with the Colt revolver pointed directly at his chest. Lance kicked upward knocking the gun out of Spirit's hands. The death scythe reached down to pick it up and felt the man's knee collide with his solar plexus, winding him. Spirit reared up and was met with a chop to the neck. Coughing, Spirit tumbled backwards his head colliding with the oak banister with a sickening thwack. His body tumbled like a rag doll down the steps before he landed on the parquet floor. Blood pooled around his head, Lance knew he had to have passed on. He raced over to the bishoujo games section and tapped the key code opening the false wall entrance to the panic room. Crona sat there in a corner, her knees up to her chest, quaking with fear.

"Crona, Crona are you alright?" Lance said. The girl looked up.

"Is he gone?" she said.

"He's dead. I took care of him, trust me. Let's get you downstairs and we'll call the police, kay." He said. Crona stood up and walked out of the stale air. Lance walked behind her; Crona observed every little detail of the store, making sure it was truly safe. It was then she saw the floor, and the bloody footprints made by a wing tip dress shoe walking from the steps and out the door.

"L-Lance?" Crona said. Her voice choked with fear.

"Son of a Bitch," Lance whispered, "I got to call Steve." He said and raced down the steps and into the office.

_Somewhere in Nevada_

Maka and Soul checked in to the motel on the outskirts of a small no name town. The place looked fairly decent, some signs of wear, but no druggies or prostitutes to sour their stay. Soul turned the key and walked into the room. It smelled like a normal hotel room, a cheap deodorizer, dry cleaned sheets, and dust mixture that felt like home. Maka plopped down on the bed, and laid back, her hands behind her head. Soul sat down at the edge next to her feet and pulled out the GPS Black Star had given Maka nearly a week ago.

"By this thing's calculations, we should be at the cabin by early evening if we get a good start." He said.

"Soul," Maka said, "What is going to happen to my dad when we find him?"

"More than likely we'll take him back to the academy; I don't know what Kid will do to him. It's out of our hands then." He said

"If he puts up a fight, will we have to, "Maka said as she sat up, her voice became choked with tears, "Will we have to kill him?" Soul wrapped his arms around her and let her tears spill down, soaking his jacket.

"Maka, it's okay. I'm here, and I promise you I will not hurt your father, I love you too much to see you suffer like that." He said and lifted her chin with his thumb. He looked into those tear filled emeralds, with sadness in his heart. Maka leaned close to him and kissed him. It was one of her deep passionate kisses, ones that she had given him the first few days of this ordeal. Soul responded by sucking on her tongue, tasting the sweetness of it before she broke it off and touched his chest.

"Soul, would you, please?" Maka said. He didn't need to be told twice, he took off his jacket and t-shirt then clicked off the light. The rising moonlight that streamed in through the curtains made the room soft and dark blue in color. Maka could still feel the power in his chest, and the softness of his skin. She gave in to her desires and let him touch and taste her body, letting him enjoy the sweetness and energy of her femininity. The night's passion throes lasted for hours before they both had reached their summit many times and lay in the bed holding each other and savoring the warmth of their bodies. Unknowing of the world outside, they dreamt of passion.

_Shroyer and James 6:00 PM_

Steve stood outside the door of the business as the CSI's made their way out. He had come in just as the police put up the yellow tape and were marking off the crime scene. What Lance and Crona had told him seemed almost unbelievable. Albarn was dead, or so Lance had told him, but Crona and he both said the body had disappeared. In talking to one of the CSI Techs he was told that the blood that had been spilt on the floor had to be from a major cranial injury, one that no person could survive. Yet somehow there they were, bloody footprints from his shoes, his exact size and style. Steve was about to close up shop when his cellphone made its familiar tone.

"Talk to me." He said.

"Albarn is heading back towards the cabin, his car has stopped near a fast food restaurant some 150 Miles from here in a town called Nuevo Laredo." Stein said.

"How fast can you get me there?" Steve asked.

"We have a helicopter waiting for you at the academy; it should get you their relatively quick."

"I'm on my way." Steve said, and turned to Lance, "You think Jen and yourself can watch Crona for a bit?" Lance smiled.

"Sure thing, you gonna be okay?" He said.

"Peachy." Steve said and got in his car.

_Nuevo Laredo Burger King 10 PM_

The lights of the restaurant were still on when Steve pulled up alongside the deputies who surrounded the building.

"We called the district manager; she lives about an hour from here. She is the only one that has the keys." The portly deputy said handing Steve a radio.

"What about the Manager?" Steve said.

"She's inside, but the phone lines are dead, we can't call in. I tell ya it's the oddest damn thing in the world." The deputy said. A woman with wavy shoulder length hair walked up to the two men.

"You the guy from Death City?" She asked Steve, who nodded.

"Alice Kirkpatrick, District Manager for Northwestern Nevada. I guess you want to go in first?"

"If you'd be so kind, ma'am." Steve said and followed her to the front door. Fumbling with the keys, Alice managed to find the right one and allowed Steve entry into the restaurant. The music in the store was playing "Every Breath You Take" By The Police, Sting's vocals tinged with a loud beeping. Steve walked toward the entrance to the back and opened the door. The scent of roast pork, and burnt hair assaulted his nostrils. Walking in back he saw the woman sitting on the floor. Her stomach was cut open and a length of her small intestine was protruding from her. The intestine ran directly into the broiler used to cook the meat. Steve walked up to her and touched her neck for a pulse, he didn't feel one. He pushed the radio given to him by the deputy.

"I am going to need the coroner here, we got one woman, she seems to have been," Steve said, just as the woman gasped hoarsely and her eyes flew open.

"Help Me!" She shouted her voice gritty like sandpaper.

"I need medics here now, I got a live one!" Steve shouted. He leaned over the woman. "You're going to be okay, is the broiler on?" he asked. The woman pointed at the timer on the machine. The clock was down to 30 seconds. Steve raced and pulled the meat freezer out from under the broiler, and bent under the machine. The woman screamed louder. Steve couldn't reach the plug to unhook the machine; the woman's screams grew frantic. Steve poked his head out and looked at the timer; it had gone down to 2 seconds, it was too late. The broiler chattered, its chains pulling the charred remains of the woman's intestines out of the chute making wet, sloppy slaps on the floor. Steve got out under the broiler and looked around the kitchen. He then noticed the two teen with their faces floating in the deep fryers. Above their heads were words smeared in ketchup, they read "Maka and Papa Together Forever." Steve heaved into the nearest waste can and staggered out into the brightly lit parking lot.

"Are you okay," The deputy said, "I called EMS and the Coroner."

"They better bring some Pepto Bismol," Steve said, "our guy made a hell of a mess."

_TBC_

_**Author's Note: This chapter was inspired by my summer job at Burger King. I work the broiler 99.9% or the time and have noticed its little traits such as how the meat comes out of it. I was in my bed one night and came up with this idea just off the top of my head. I hope you enjoyed it!**_


	41. Day 20 and 21

30 Days

Day 20 & 21

Steve sat in his car, suppressing his urge to heave. He sipped lightly on a lukewarm Serra Mist he had pilfered from the communal fridge in the office hoping to ease his stomach. He had worked in a Burger King once, he could remember the clack of the broiler shooting out what ever grilled flesh he had put in there, and he never thought it would kill anyone. He knew in his heart Albarn went off the deep end, possibly his soul was in pre-kishen stage if not full blown kishen mode by now. The beginnings of a headache formed at the back of his head, the flashing lights didn't help matters. Picking up his cell phone he dialed the academy. Stein answered.

"What's the situation?" He asked.

"SNAFU, FUBAR, you name any military expression and this is it Frankie." Steve said.

"How bad are we talking?" The sound of a screw turning was heard on the other end.

"From what I saw, the entire night shift crew has been massacred. No sign of robbery or forced entry, he just came in, killed and left." Steve sipped the small puddle of liquid around the can's edge.

"Well, this isn't going to look good on any of us. I should mention we got a hit on Maka and Soul, they are both in a no-tell motel, about half a tenth of a mile away." Steve looked out the window of his car.

"Does it have a wagon wheel on the sign?" Steve said. Stein gave him the answer he was looking for. Starting the car he made eased his way to the motel.

Maka lay next to Soul; the sounds of his breathing were lulling her into relaxation. She had wondered how many times they had made love in the past few weeks, since Soul revealed his illness. She didn't notice the headlights streaming into the window; she was too enraptured with Soul and his sleeping form to care. It was the pounding on the door that got her attention.

"Open this god damn door now!" She recognized the voice immediately, Steve. Maka got up and threw on her coat, cinching it to hide her naked body. Soul slowly started to rise from his slumber. She opened the door.

"Do you two have any idea what kind of shit you two are in?" Steve said.

"Nice to see you too, Steve." Maka said. He flicked on a lamp and sat down.

"What the fuck do you two think you are doing going on mission like this without backup?" He said throwing his hands wildly in the air.

"Turn off the TV Maka; it sounds like that asshole is in the room." Soul said.

"News flash for ya, albino," his voice has a hint of sarcasm, "I am in the fucking room, and I suggest you both start giving me a good reason right fucking now."

"Why should we," Maka said, "Besides, it's my father we're dealing with." Soul propped himself up and glared at him.

"This is serious Maka," Steve said," I just saw your father's handiwork at the BK down the road from here. The guy is a loony tune, he is 20 Pokémon short of catching them all, four hundred filler episodes short of a Naruto season, and I can't be blunter than that."

"So?" Maka said.

"So," Steve said, "you two are not equipped to deal with this kind of fucking lunatic. Jack the Ripper looks like a 5 year old frying ants with a magnifying glass compared to your dad. Worse off he has some kind of issue with you." Steve said.

"Like what?" She said plopping down on the bed.

"Like he wants to fuck you Maka, like he has a maddening obsession with you." He said. Maka sat there in stunned silence letting the words, as harsh as they were, sink in.

"Wait," Soul said, "Maka's dad wants Maka to 'do' him? We're talking incest, right?" Steve nodded.

"Now I understand why he hates you, Soul." Maka said. Steve folded his hands on his lap and looked at them.

"If you wish to continue I understand, but I think you two should know what you're up against." Steve said.

"Oh we understand, trust me. He is going to get the worst fucking Maka Chop in his life!" She said. Steve just sat there and thought to himself how he ever got involved with such a mess. He then got up and walked towards the door.

"I am going to call the Academy and tell them that you two are going it alone. If anything happens you know what to do." Steve said and left them alone. Maka snuggled next to Soul, glad the confrontation was over, and drifted to sleep.

_Death City_

Blair sat in the apartment quietly; the hum of the central air and the whirr of various kitchen appliances turning on and off was all that was heard. She had been waiting since he left her apartment for the phone call, the one phone call she didn't want to miss no matter how much she wanted to go out and snag some kind of fish for dinner. The phone's chime was a welcome comfort.

"Yes? She said.

"Can you get to the Cabin before morning?" The voice said.

"Yeah, I heard rumors that Shibusen has a private helicopter service." Blair said.

"You got a pilot?" The voice said.

"One of the regulars has a pass to get in there and he can fly to boot. When can I see you again?" She said.

"Soon my beautiful tigress, soon." The voice said and hung up. Blair got off of the couch and went downstairs. She hoped the pilot was at Cabra's, and he was sober.


	42. Day 21 and 22

30 Days

Day21, 22

The pilot was not at Cabra's, her plans were ruined. Blair sat on the edge of the curb gnawing on a fish she had bought from a local vendor. The taste was comforting, as a cat she needed comfort sometimes to get over her high strung nerves. She was wondering how to get to the cabin; her mind darted from possibility to possibility. Her flying Jack O' Lantern would draw suspicion, as would she hitching a ride in her cat form. It was when the idea of the mirror came to her that she really felt peace and her nerves slacked. Mirrors could connect you any place in Death City, why not a small remote Lake Tahoe Cabin? She walked over the alleyway; there standing inconspicuously and aloof was a random mirror. Someone must have thrown it out from one of the dress shops nearby and had waited for the garbage man to take it away. Blair fogged it up with her breath and entered the phone number for the cabin. The mirror's plasticity gave way and she walked in, no sounds made by her boots as the touched the carpet. Blair sat down and waited for Spirit to arrive.

Kami hid in the closet near the kitchen. The scent of vacuum bags and cleaning supplies assaulted her nostrils. She could feel the cat's wavelength, its darkness disquieted her own, and Blair was up to something, something bad.

"You can come out Kami; I am not going to hurt you." Blair said. Kami grew stiff, her heart thudded wildly in time with her nerves rapid pulses. "Just come out of the closet and we can talk." Kami stood up and quietly turned the knob on the door. A small creak was heard as she opened the door looked around.

"What do you want? I have nothing to say to you." Kami said.

"Oh but you do, Kami, you want to know so many things, I can feel it." She said.

"Why are you doing this to me," Kami said, "Why are you doing this to the academy?"

"It's not the academy Spirit wants," She said, her voice became hushed and her eyes burned bright, "It's your daughter." Kami was confused.

"What would he want with Maka?" She said.

"Everything." Blair said.

"I don't understand." She said.

"Spirit has a thing for your daughter Kami. She is his little nymphet. Prime to be deflowered by a beast of a man, this obsession has been why he loves your daughter so much. He must pluck that flower and make it his own."

"What the hell are you talking about?" She said.

"You wondered why Mifune was killed, you wonder where little Angela is. I can show and tell you all these things. That is if you want to know." Blair said.

"You've fucking lost it." She said. Blair walked over to a rug in the middle of the foyer of the cabin. Pulling it away, a padlocked door sat in the middle.

"You're going to love this," Blair said, "I loved it when I saw it." Blair reached around her neck and pulled out a key, sliding it into the lock, it clicked open. She lifted the door, and with a waving motion ushered Kami inside.

Kami felt along the mossy rock wall to find a light to no avail. She did feel the dusty glass of an oil lamp hanging on the wall. She grabbed the lamp and felt a long stick lighter next to it. Clicking it, the flame blazed an orange blue glow. She touched it to the wick of the lamp and continued to walk down the steps, it was then she heard a whimper, like that of a child.

"Daddy," The voice said, Daddy, please" Kami walked closer to the sound, the lamp brought into focus what was making that noise. The little witch was lying on a mattress, blood splotched her panties, and her uniform was in tatters. Her hands were touching the insides of her thighs, her sensitive spot.

"Please, daddy, make me yours. Make your little girl feel good." Angela said.

"Oh god!" Kami said stifling her horror with her hand. Angela continued touching herself, as Kami raced up the steps the urge to vomit rising. Reaching the top step she recognized the black loafers standing at the edge of the door. Spirit had come home, she heaved right then and there.

_Day 22_

_Shroyer and James _

"Well Jeff we kinda have to reschedule it," Steve said to the managing editor of Deadite Press.

"What is the problem; maybe I can help work it out." Jeff said. Jeff Burk was a 20 something Bizarro fiction author and head of Deadite Press, Eraserhead Press' horror division. Steve Shroyer had been their best customer and word of mouth practitioner since 2009 when he championed the movement in an article he wrote for the New York Times.

"Well it just seems that strange shit has come up and I have to do some house cleaning. You know Death City." Steve said.

"Let me guess, it has to do with that guy who had it his way at the Burger King, right?" He said.

"Did Carlton look that up or something?" Steve said.

"All the guys have heard about it on some blog or another. Look Steve how about we give this a few days. Wrath and some other Deadite authors are going with me to Killer Con, so we can take a break before we come over to DC okay?" He said.

"I would love that, oh and could you send me a publication date list. I got people here going gaga for the Keene reissues. " Steve said.

"Will do, man, Freak Power." He said.

"Same here buddy." Steve said and hung up. Lance and Crona walked towards him, a look of concern was on their faces.

"Steve we're missing a book from the classics section." Lance said.

"We must have sold it, happens all the time." Steve said.

"No dad, " Crona said, "I checked the sales data, this one was never purchased."

"Bug in the system then." He said.

"Ran all the checkers, nothing." Lance said.

"Which book was it?" Steve said.

"_Lolita _by Vladimir Nabokov" Crona said.

"When was it last here?" Steve said.

"When we had to shut down the store because of," Lance said

"Of?" Steve said

"Of Spirit Albarn falling down the steps." Lance said.

_Somewhere in a small town a motorcycle revved up , and two warriors drove off to meet their destiny._


	43. Day 22 and 23

30 Days

Day 22 Day 23

Kami sat on the couch, her legs and arms bound together. Spirit sat directly in front of her; Blair was on his lap, a glass of champagne in her hand.

"So," He said, "You have discovered my dirty little secret huh?"

"It's pretty fucking dirty if you ask me, diseased even!" Kami said.

"It's not without its reasons; she is such a precious thing, beautiful, soft, and warm. Just how I like my girls."

"You're a fucking sicko; you don't know what kind of shit you're going to be in once they find you." Kami said.

"_If_ they find me." Spirit said and nuzzled Blair's neck making her purr.

"What has happened to you, why are you doing this?" Kami said.

"Why does anyone do anything? Freud would say it is because of our subconscious desires, Tinbergen would say it is evolution; Skinner would say we are conditioned to do things. The mind is a strange thing my dear, one many can exploit." He said.

"Cut the bullshit, you know what I am asking!" Kami said.

"My dear sweet Kami, you have a lot to learn about humanity. You'll get your lesson soon enough." He said, Blair hopped off his lap and he walked towards the window.

"I can feel them, a strong resonating wavelength, do you feel it Kami?" He said.

"I can't feel anything." She said.

"Once you have the soul of a Kishen, wavelengths become easier to feel from distances. I believe we are to have guests. Blair, let's make sure they are most welcome." He said. Kami didn't know that Maka and Soul were making their way towards the cabin.

_Death City_

"Well this proves my theory Albarn is a perv." Steve said as he sat in Stein's office.

"We all knew that, he has been for years." Stein said sipping on a cup of coffee.

"I am not talking lecherous, Stein, I am talking like the death scythe version of Pedo Bear, a Chomo, Chester, freaking kid diddler." Steve said getting up to pace the room.

"I knew this would happen." Stein said.

"Knew what?" He said.

"Steve, its best you didn't know." The professor said.

"Oh I want to know now; you've piqued my interest screw head." Steve said.

"Okay, but you can't tell the others, this could get me in some serious shit." He said.

"Shoot." Steve said.

"When I was Spirit's partner, I used to experiment on him. I had a fascination with the idea of humanity and what drives people. I snuck into the records room and did some digging on him one night, I found something unpleasant in his past I thought I could exploit." He said.

"What was it?" Steve said.

"When spirit was five he lived in a little village of the coast of Japan called Hinamizawa that was raided by The Star Clan. He and his little sister Hope were the only survivors. They hid in a cellar for four days until the ninjas found them. He watched them rape his sister, the forced him to participate sometimes. When his sister died he watched them cook her and eat her. He escaped somehow in the night and ended up in an orphanage, he was so traumatized he blacked out the whole thing." He said

"Where did you come in?" Steve said. Stein Continued.

"I came up with the idea of trying to bring back the memories he had kept hidden, maybe see how kishens could be made just from memories. I told him that I needed to see him in the library group study room. I rigged some speakers inside and a sound system outside. When he went inside that room I locked the door and put on a recording I had made. It was just generic sound effects of a little girl crying. I had posted pictures of girls that I thought looked like his sister from magazines and catalogs all over the walls. He begged to come out. I left him in there for almost 24 hours. When I came back, he was broken. He had this look on his face, a god awful look, like he had just watched a funny movie but was not allowed to laugh. His eyes were hollow, like his soul had vacated, I knew I had done it, I knew I had done something that was irreversible. He spent 6 weeks in the infirmary; no one knew what I had done. When he came out, he looked and acted like the Spirit I knew, but his soul was different." Stein said and hung his head; tears began to form at the corners of his eyes.

"What about Maka, what does she have to do with this?" Steve said.

"I can remember the words he said to me when she was born. 'My little Hope, my beloved, you have returned.' Those words still haunt me."

"How did he not become a Kishen, why did it manifest now, not when you two were together?" Steve said.

"Soul did it, when he got serious with Maka, he brought it out." He said.

"Soul had nothing to do with his sister." Steve said.

"No," Stein said, "but his best friend did."

"Black Star? He thinks Black Star has something to do with this?" he said

"He is afraid of what Black Star may be doing to him; he doesn't realize its just paranoia." Stein said.

"Is that why he did all this, the black blood injections, the murders, the false leads, because of his delusions?" Steve said.

"It's all a part of his sickness, he must try to protect Maka at all costs, so he can make her his. You becoming involved was just the icing on the cake." Stein said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Steve said.

"I'm surprised you lasted this long, you should have been dead way before the others." Stein said.

"What the fuck are you talking about screw head!" Steve shouted.

"I didn't want to tell you this." He said.

"Tell me what, what is going on!" He shouted

"You really shouldn't have come to my office." Stein said. A mad grin appeared on his face.

"Tell me what is going on!" he said. Stein pulled the knife out from behind his back and raced toward Steve howling furiously. Steve ran towards the back of the office, Stein chased after him the knife slashed the air. He tried kicking the knife out of the professor's hand but Stein made a deep cut to his shin. Blood flowed out of the cut, Steve screamed. He limped towards the door trying to escape. Stein pounced on his back, the knife flailing about trying to get at his neck. Steve slammed him against the wall; Stein's head made a thwack against the plaster, a spot of blood trickled down the wall. The knife slipped out of his hand and he fell off. Steve picked him up by his collar and pressed him against the wall.

"Why am I involved, what do I have to do with this? Tell me or so help me god I will rip that fucking screw out of your goddamn head!" Steve said.

"You're like a father to Maka, more so than her real one. He knew." Stein said.

"He knew what?" He said.

"He knew you liked the Horror genre, he knew how close you were to Maka, he asked me to help. We've been planning for years, since Soul got the black blood. Have you ever wondered what is like to live in a horror movie Mr. Shroyer, if those boogeymen you watch are real? Now you know. He's killing two birds with one stone, making Maka his, and driving you to madness, so you can no longer be a threat to him and his vision of a happy family. He wants Soul dead because he takes her passion, he wants you dead because you give her something he can't, a Father." Stein said

"He is that jealous of me huh? I guess I am that much of a threat that he puts me into a living horror movie huh? He want's Soul and I to die huh?" Steve said. Stein nodded. He let Stein go, he slumped to the floor. Steve stood there panting. "Well if this is his idea of a horror movie, then I guess there is one thing left to do, " Steve picked up the knife, and walked towards Stein and raised it up.

"Please," Stein said, "He said it was my chance to continue my experiments."

"Smile for the Camera!" Steve said and slammed the knife into Stein's groin. The Professor howled.

"And that's a wrap!" he said and walked out. Marie walked past him in the hallway and noticed his leg.

"Are you okay?" She said.

"If you think I'm bad wait till you see Stein." Steve said and hobbled off to the nurse. Marie walked toward Stein's office, opened the door, and let out a blood curdling scream.

_Day 23_

Maka and Soul made it to the cabin at Midnight. They were there later than they wanted, Soul's motorcycle got a flat tire and the nearest Triple A service was tens of miles away from the cabin. The bike's motor cut off leaving the sound of insects and night creatures fill the void. Making their way to the Cabin they noticed the lights were off, the soft orange of a candle burned in the front window.

"Cover me Soul, if he tries to get us, transform, kay?" Maka said. Soul nodded. The knob on the door turned easily, the door was unlocked. Creeping inside she could smell sandalwood and jasmine, wisps of smoke stung her eyes.

"Freaking smells like a head shop in here." Soul said.

"I don't like this Soul, not a bit." She said.

"But I do." A male voice said. Maka tried to find the voice but felt a damp rag cover her mouth. Her screams were muffled, she tried to fight her attacker but she soon succumbed to the blackness at the edge of her mind.

"Maka!" Soul shouted.

"Isn't the lighting in here sexy little scythe boy?" a female voice said, Soul spun around, and watched stars fill his vision as Blair slammed the fireplace poker on his head. The partners in crime dragged their captives up the steps, hoping to engage the next part of their plan.

_TBC_


	44. Day 22 and 23 pt 2

30 Days

Day 22- Day23

Soul's head throbbed. He could feel the cool sheets against his skin and the ropes securing him to the bed, little bits of sensory information were being funneled into his brain as the world began to open in his eyes. He began to think where he was, possibly a bedroom in the cabin, was not an entirely safe place to be. He wanted to say something, an external monologue or something to relate his condition to himself but all he could manage was a groan.

"Good, you're awake." Blair said, her form coming into focus. Soul blinked, letting his vision become clear. Blair was wearing her black lace bra and panty set she had bought at Victoria's Secret, when she was out at the mall. Soul willed himself into flaccidity.

"Does this not turn you on little scythe?" She said.

"Not really into S&M Blair. Where's Maka?" He said.

"She's busy at the moment. In good hands, but busy" Blair said, she made her way on top of Soul, her warmth enveloped him.

He said. She let out a giggle.

"I am a master of seduction, Soul, no man is immune." She said. Blair leaned in for a kiss, Soul responded by nipping her lower lip.

"You little shit!" She said pressing a palm against her bleeding lip. Soul gave her a smug Cheshire cat grin. Blair pressed a tissue to her lip, and scowled at him.

"You can do one of two things," Soul said, "Untie me"

"Or?" Blair said.

"Or I can use my scythe powers to do it." He said.

"Ha, your powers don't go that far." She said. Then Soul's arm turned into a blade and the rope fell on the floor.

"Oh no, don't even think about it!" Blair shouted. The other arm cut through the second bond. She leapt on top of him, pinning his arms to the bed. He leaned forward and clamped down hard on her nose. Cartilage crunched, and blood oozed from the wound and into Soul's mouth. Blair howled in pain. He let go, Blair leapt off the bed and went over to a mirror on the wall. Soul spit out the blood and worked on his foot restraints.

"My fucking nose! You nearly bit off my fucking nose! Oooh you're gonna pay you fuck!" Blair said. Her nose was hanging on by a slim margin of skin and cartilage. Blair looked at her ruined visage and began to weep. "I'm a fucking freak now," her voice now choked with tears and anguish, she looked at the now empty bed, "I thought you loved me? I thought you really loved me Soul!" Soul walked up behind her, portions of the bed sheet wrapped around each hand.

"Its okay, Blair I know Maka could heal you right up. Her wavelength could do it." He said. She sniffled.

"Really," she said, "Oh Soul that's so…." She couldn't finish before the garrote wrapped around her throat. Blair coughed and sputtered.

"Die," Soul shouted increasing the pressure on her throat, "Die, you fucking cat whore!" Blair clawed at her throat. Soul increased the pressure, his hands shaking. Blair finally went slack and he let her slump to the floor.

"Good kitty." He said. He went looking for Maka naked clothes were not important.

_Day 22 _

Mira sat in the nurse's office with Sid. They were currently going over staff check-up logs, hoping to see where Spirit Albarn went wrong, looking through records for clues. Mira was looking at a presumptive black blood test when she heard a voice at the door.

"Hey," the voice said, "Can I get some assistance here?" Mira looked up and saw Steve standing at the door with his hand on his leg, a trail of blood behind him.

"Holy shit, what happened to you?" Sid said as Mira helped Steve to an exam table.

"Oh nothing out of the ordinary," Steve said, "Stein went bugshit and slashed me. Standard operating procedure I'm sure." Mira looked at the cut.

"It's going to need stitches, nearly went to the bone." She said.

"Wunderbar, Fraulein, now fucking sew me up!" Steve said.

"You're going to have to go to the hospital, I can't do much here." She said.

"I don't have time to go to a goddamn hospital." He said.

"If you don't you could bleed out and die!" She said.

"Fine, fine call a goddamn ambulance but, get one for screw head too. I may have cut his dick off." Steve said.

"What?" She said

"You heard me. He cut me with a knife, what was I supposed to do let him carve me up?" He said.

"Sid, call 911 and tell them we have 2 men with severe lacerations." She said. Sid raced to the phone while Mira wrapped gauze around the wound.

"I wonder how much this place is worth." Steve said.

"Why?" Mira said.

"I may file a lawsuit; negligence sounds like a good thing to go for.

_Day 23_

Maka could hear her father weeping. The effects of the chloroform were slowly dissipating, her mind was becoming clear she looked around the dim room; she could see her father sitting on a chair, naked and crying. Little vials scattered the desk behind him, a mirror gracefully reflected the shadows.

"I failed, I failed." Spirit said.

"What's going on?" Maka said.

"I should have sprung when I had the chance, while the bud was there unpicked and ready." He said.

"Dad, what the hell are you talking about?" She said. She tried to move but all she could feel was resistance, rough rope and a wooden headboard.

"He took you didn't he? That bastard scythe took you!" He said.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You are talking like a mad man!" Maka shouted.

"Did he fuck you? Did he make you his own?" He said.

"Soul and I had sex, yes." She said.

"I knew it. I knew when I looked at you, that you were no longer my Maka." He said.

"Dad, what the hell is going on?" Maka said. He opened a desk drawer and riffled through it.

"If I can't have my Maka, then I'll make it so no one has her!" He said and shut the drawer. Maka then saw what he had in his hand. It was a needle and a spool of thread.

"What the hell are you going to do with that?" She said.

"I am going to fix you," he said, "Fix you so you can never be touched again!" He said and threaded the needle. He placed it next to her opening, Maka realized what he was going to do, and fainted. She didn't feel the needle pierce her flesh as Spirit began his work.

_Death City_

Steve sat in the emergency room; a police officer was sitting across from him with metal clipboard and some paper.

"You're going to file assault charges I'm sure?" The cop said.

"Hell yeah," Steve said, "I don't see any reason not to."

"It's just that this whole thing seems far-fetched. People turning into weapons, demons, conspiracies, it just sounds like a bad horror movie." The cop said.

"How long have you lived in Death City?" Steve said.

"All my life," The cop said, "I just didn't go to that loony bin on the north side. I went to Death City High, a normal school."

"Wonderful, a cop with a bias," Steve said, "Do you shoot African Americans when they reach for their wallet too?"

"I ain't profiling buddy," The cop said, "I am just stating a well-known opinion."

"Yeah, well keep them to yourself okay?" Steve said.

"You said there might be some other people in trouble, two minors." The cop said.

"Soul Evans and Maka Albarn," Steve said, "They were heading up to Lake Tahoe to do something about Maka's dad."

"Why?" The cop said.

"He has got a hard-on for his daughter, young girls in general really. You all should be out there right now if you ask me." Steve said.

"Is he registered?" The Cop asked.

"As a sex offender? No and you're wasting precious time now." Steve said.

"Is this cabin in Douglas or Washoe County?" The cop said.

"Does it make any fucking difference? There is some shit going down buddy and someone needs to take care of it now before it gets worse." Steve said.

"This is really out of our jurisdiction, if I had more info I could help." The cop said.

"Just get the fuck out of here. I think Dunkin Doughnuts is running a special on honey glazed right now and it ends within the next five minutes."

"Hey, fuck you buddy." The cop said.

"Same to ya!" Steve said and watched as the cop walked out of the room. Steve picked up his phone and dialed Lance, hoping to get an answer. It was busy.

_The Cabin_

Maka felt an immense pain in her groin; her father's laughter was disturbing her as well. It almost sounded like a mental patient was in the room with her. He was whispering in between laughing fits. She could barely make out his words, but what she did hear made her ill.

"Maka's all better now. She's untouchable, no one can have her not even the scythe, and not even that evil scythe can have her." He said. She tried to move her arm and found her that she was no longer bonded. She moved down to her groin, her sensitive spot, and winced in pain, she could feel the lumps of skin that were sewn together, the wet mixture of blood and fluid that seeped through the stitching. Maka knew what her father had done, and began to weep.

In the darkness, Soul stumbled through the cabin. The candle had since gone out casting the living room of the cabin in blue moon glow. He wanted to find Maka; he wanted to save her from the monster that was her father. In the darkness however, the rooms blended together. Walking down the hall from the master bathroom, he could see a faint trickle of light streaming from a crack in a door down the hall. Edging towards it he could feel her wavelength, she was in pain, he had hurt her. Soul walked to the door and turned the knob. Peering in, he could see Spirit sitting in a chair, hunched over, and laughing like maniac. Maka was sitting up in the bed her hands between her legs, weeping. He opened the door. Walking on the balls of his feet he made his way up to Maka without a sound. He looked at Spirit's amateur surgery and seethed with rage.

"Maka?" Soul said. She looked up, Spirit didn't notice, he was gone.

"Soul?" She said. He nodded and went to untie her legs. Maka saw her before he did.

"Did I not tell you about cats the last time you killed me, little scythe?" she said coyly. Soul turned around and was face to face with Blair. He stood frozen. Spirit got up from the chair.

"Nice of you to join us." Spirit said and walked over to Soul placing a hand on the boy's shoulder and a rag over his mouth. Soul's world faded to black.

_TBC_


	45. Day 23

30 Days

Day 23

Steve rested his hand against the wall, he could hear Lance's footsteps making their way up the stone steps, and the full force of his weight making his soles slap them hard.

"Jesus Christ, look at you. You're a wreck!" Lance said.

"You should see screw head; I think Marie will definitely marry that toilet in the girl's bathroom now. His dick won't function for months!" Steve said.

"A toilet? Steve did they give you some pain meds or something, cause you're spouting bullshit." He said. He held Steve by the crook of his arm.

"Son of a bitch had a scalpel and used it on me. Where's Crona?" Steve said.

"She's closing the store. Jeff from Deadite called and said he got Wrath to come in a week from now. He's going to read from "Like Porno for Psychos" that's the latest Deadite book from him. He also asked if you wanted Keene and Gonzales to come and discuss the Clickers books sometime. Brian had a heart attack recently so his travel schedule is light but he'd be more than willing to come to our store. "Lance said.

"Can we not discuss the store right now?" He said.

"I just wanted to keep you abreast. Oh some guy from Dorchester called, he wants to know if you have interest in purchasing their new stuff?" Lance said as they stopped at the passenger side of his car.

"You tell that pig fucker at Dorchester that until he pays his authors properly and squares away his shit, I refuse to do business with him. Don't forget the boycott." Steve said. Lance remembered the boycott Brian Keene had earlier that year against the company, that Steve wholeheartedly joined in. Lance never understood Steve, then again no one else did, which is just the way he liked it. Steve shut the door and buckled his belt. The radio was playing Coldplay's "Violet Hill".

"Where are Marco and Rachel now?" Steve said.

"They left about a week ago." He said.

"What? When?" Steve said.

"About 2 days after Rachel got out of the hospital, they had an issue." Lance said.

"What issue?" He said.

"Rachel's stalker found her at the hotel. The guy from Yankton, the emo?" Lance said.

"Tim? That prick found her here? I thought she had a restraining order?" Steve said.

"It has nothing to do with the stalker being there; it has to do with what Marco did to him when he found him in the hotel." He said.

"Oh boy, what did he do?" Steve said.

"Well let's say Tim is now Tia. He cut his dick and balls off, and then made him eat them. "Lance said.

"Did the police show up?" Steve said.

"Marco beat the shit out of him afterwards. Then he grabbed him by the cuffs of his skinny jeans and hung him over the balcony, threatened him that if he told anyone he'd make his life a lot worse than he did at that time. They checked out two hours later." He said.

"That's my man! I could use them though, it seems doubtful anyone at Halloween Town Academy is worth trusting." Steve said relaxing in the seat.

"What about the nurse and the Zombie?" Lance said.

"I can't be too sure about them, if these people have known about Albarn and his little issue for as long as I think they have then they are no good to us or those people at the cabin. We need our own people on this, independent contractors that answer to someone other than Shibusen. We still don't know what happened to the other Kids who got Black Blood?" Steve said, Lance pulled around to the back of the store and put a file in his lap. Steve opened it and saw the pictures of the kids he mentioned. They didn't look like they were alive.

"Marco hacked into their files when he returned to Yankton. They're all gone. Nakatsukasaa, Star, Kid and both Thompson girls, they rounded them up and blew their brains out." Lance said.

"Why, what the fuck did they do?" Steve said.

"They called it Operation Snow White, after what the huntsman was supposed to do to the titular princess. The Shibusen higher ups are basically taking anyone out connected to Albarn or this case before they can talk about it to outsiders. Shibusen is practically leaderless at this point, Yumi Azusa is the leader in name only; right now we got a lot of death scythes from all around the world scrambling with power plays. Marco guesses that the Academy will implode on itself within the week."

"What about us?" Steve said

"From what it looks like we are next, Marco and Rachel too. All four of us know what's going on at this point. We could go to any higher up in Nevada or even go to the Federal Government and take them town if we want to. "

"What can we do to fix this?" Steve said.

"Practically nothing, Shinigami-sama and his kid are dead, so that leaves them without any real form of leadership. Even if we were to fix this, the academy would be so much in disrepair that it would have to shut down regardless. The only thing we can do is getting to that cabin and save those three people before it gets worse." Lance said.

"Go inside and tell Crona that if she's done closing she needs to get in the car with us. I don't think she'll be safe in your apartment; they'll go there to get you, same with mine. We'll call Jennifer and tell her to go someplace safe. Does she have any relatives nearby?" Steve said.

"All our people are in Ohio, same as yours." He said.

"Tell her then to go as far away from this place as she can, big cities are preferred. I have some cash stored away in a bank account somewhere; it should give her enough to live on for a month or two depending on if and when this is resolved. Crona comes with us, she's a strong girl, and she may be able to hold her own. I'll call Marco and Rachel once we get outside the city; give them the address of the cabin. If they can catch a red eye out of Sioux Falls, they should get to Tahoe maybe a few hours before us. This has to be done very quick and very neat, we can't leave a trail for them to find. If they do have people wanting to kill us we want them to think we've vanished. I got a friend who lives about 30 miles out of town that can supply us with weapons and data encryption software. He's a bit loopy but he's a good guy." Steve said.

"What if they find us beforehand?" Lance said.

"You got the gun in your glove compartment don't you?" He said. Lance got out of the car and walked into the store, just as Crona was shutting off the lights. Steve picked up his cell and dialed his friend.

"Marx? It's Engles; I think we need to get to work on that Manifesto." He said.

_Tahoe_

Soul felt the chair and the rope binding him to it. Maka was dozing restlessly after her makeshift surgery; Blair laid next to her softly licking and nuzzling her neck. Spirit stood directly in front of him.

"Hey pops!" Soul said. Spirit just scowled.

"I got a question here about Maka? How did you do that sewing thing? Face down? Ass up? Oh no that's just the way you'd like to f-"Spirit slapped him.

"You took my Maka! She's mine damn you! Only mine!" Spirit said.

"You are one fucked up dude, sewing your own daughter's snatch up." He said.

"I got a better idea!" Spirit said and produced a scalpel, he had plucked from the dresser table, and he grinned fiendishly. "I think Maka needs a transplant that only you can provide." He said and knocked the chair over giving him easier access to Soul's genitals. Soul tried to cut through the bonds but somehow his scythe form couldn't manifest itself. Spirit's scalpel inched closer; the blade nicked the base of Soul's penis causing warm blood to trickle down to his scrotum.

"You sick motherfucker!" Soul shouted.

"Don't worry Soul; this is for your own good!" Spirit said and made a small shallow cut at the base. Soul screamed, Spirit giggled like a circus clown on nitrous oxide. The crack of the revolver and the bullets smashing into his knee caps stopped sprit from laughing. He collapsed on the floor howling in agony. Maka bolted up coming out of the sedative fog that her father put her in and watched as Blair raced towards her lover. Kami inched forward and placed the barrel of the gun against the back of Blair's head.

"You say you have nine lives? Let's see how you recover from this one bitch!" Kami said and pulled the trigger. Blair's head blew open leaving pieces of brain and bone all over the floor. Spirit choked, trying to get the bits out of his throat.

"Blair." He gurgled. Kami stood over her ex-husband.

"You're not worth it. I think the way you are now is punishment enough." Kami said and held Maka close to her, stroking her blond hair letting her sob. Maka slowly got off the bed, her legs were like rubber, Kami held her up, slowly making their way towards Soul. She let Maka slump to the floor as she untied the scythe. Blood stained his inner thighs; Kami helped him to his feet. She tore a piece of the bed sheet off and wrapped it around Soul's wound; crimson began to dye the white linen. Together the walking wounded and the living dead wandered out into the living room, hoping for salvation from the hell they had become trapped in.

_TBC_


	46. Day 24 part 1

30 Days

Day 24 part 1

_Authors note: This chapter contains super graphic material that may disturb or unnerve some readers with weak stomachs or constitutions. If you are offended by such material… why the heck are you still reading this story? Anyway this chapter is worse than previous chapters. ENJOY! -STEVE_

The young man sat in the interrogation room fidgeting, he couldn't get used to the hormones. Tim Richardson, was a he, then he lost the stuff that made him just that. The only choice was to become a she, the only logical choice to him that is. He consciously decided when the doctor said he would have a micropenis, that instead of him getting pussy, he'd have to be the pussy. The Las Vegas Metro Police detective walked in and pulled back the chair in front of Tim. He sat a small Styrofoam cup of coffee on the table, wisps of steam showed themselves.

"Mr. Richardson, my name is Detective Broadka; I understand you wish to talk to me about an incident that happened at The Bellagio right?" he said.

"Yes, I want to file attempted murder charges." Tim said his voice a wavering mixture of male and female characteristics.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" Broadka said and turned on the digital recorder. Tim sighed and began to talk.

_The Bellagio Hotel and Casino -8 days ago_

"We need to tell Steve what our plan of action is." Rachel said as she walked down the hall, Marco kept pace next to her.

"If we have one, that is." Marco said.

"Tsubaki and the other infected students are still in quarantine even though the black blood is not in their system. It sounds shady, something is up and Steve seems to be the only one who can really do anything there." She said. Rachel pulled her swipe card out of her wallet and passed it through the lock. Marco's phone began pumping out Miku Hatsune and Ievan Polkka.

"I'll get this, you go inside." Marco said, and began to answer his call. Rachel tossed her overcoat on the back of a chair, and made her way to the makeshift command center she had set up. She didn't see him, but she felt his hand clasp her mouth and pull her close to him.

"Hello Rachel." He said. She looked up and saw her stalker, his brown hair tousled and his eyes gleaming with madness. She reared back and kicked furiously at his legs; The Stalker dragged her to the bed and tossed her onto it.

"Remember me?" The Stalker said.

"Marco!" She shouted. The stalker slapped her hard, her head snapped to the right hard and fast.

"You call for that prick, I'll kill you, understand?" The Stalker said.

"H-How did you get in?" Rachel said.

"I found a clerk who was dumber than a sack of shit and convinced her I was your husband!" The Stalker said.

"I have a restraining order! Marco is right outside! If he find's you in here he is going to end you, Tim!" She said.

"Shut up! I have been waiting 2 years for this and I am not going to let that prick stop me." He said and began to undo the belt of his jeans and slid them off. He climbed on top of her, pinning her down to the bed with one hand and undoing the buttons of her blouse with the other. He kissed her neck, making her whimper; tears began to cascade down her cheeks.

"You know you want this, damnit I know you do." He said. Somewhere she heard the click of the door, and Marco's footsteps. Tim continued the undesired foreplay not knowing the black haired Portuguese native stood right behind him.

"You mother fucker!" Marco shouted. Tim's head whipped around only to be met with Marco's fist. The world went black.

Tim didn't know where he was, all he could see was a mass of Tan surrounded topped with black fuzz, in a white blur. He could hear sizzling, the smell of cooking meat, almost like pork, and the metallic tang of blood.

"Tim? Tim? Wake up buddy." Marco said and gave him a gentle slap on the cheek. Tim came too and saw Marco standing in front of a small range. "Good you're awake; I hope I didn't hurt you too bad. I just get so angry when people try to hurt Rachel. Sometimes I go completely psycho, ya know."

"Why, why am I tied to a chair?" Tim said.

"Oh, just a precaution, I didn't want to hurt you while I made your snack. I am sure you'll find it quite tasty. Rachel told me it's your personal favorite." Marco said. Tim felt like he had pissed himself, only id didn't feel like piss. It felt warmer, sticky, and some of it dried on his thighs. Tim glanced down and saw the wound; he was missing two important parts.

"Where the fuck is my junk?" Tim screamed.

"Shhhh, calm down. I know hunger makes people cranky." Marco tilted the skillet and Tim watched as his junk slid onto a plate.

"Voila, all done! Hope you're hungry!" Marco placed the plate on Tim's lap. Tim screamed. Marco speared Tim's testicle with a fork, clear fluid slid out of it. "Come on buddy, open up."

"You fucking sick European bastard!" Tim shouted. Marco pinched Tim's nostrils shut forcing the mouth to open and slid the gland into his mouth. Tim gagged.

"You fucking eat this, or I'll swear to god your junk will be the last of your worries!" Marco shouted Tim chewed; it was a rubbery piece of fat you'd get on a steak. He gagged. Marco grabbed the rest of his parts off the plate and crammed them in Tim's mouth. "Choke on them!" Marco shouted. Tim chewed, gagging, then heaved out the organs and the rest of his stomach contents. It looked like pink oatmeal. Marco kicked the chair over, and Tim landed face first in the vomit.

"You sick fucker!" Tim screamed.

"You will eat what you just threw up or I call the police, and trust me I think a jury would never convict me," Marco said, Tim whimpered, "Fucking eat it!" Marco screamed and undid Tim's hands. Tim scooped the vomit into his mouth and swallowed. "Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" Marco shouted clapping his hands slowly. Tim raised his head up. Marco slammed the skillet on his head. Tim collapsed. Marco continued slamming the skilled all over Tim's body, joints cracking and blood pooling around him. Tim couldn't feel a thing.

Tim felt a searing pain in his groin, like a burn. He could hear the rush of traffic carried by the desert winds, the blur of neon came into focus. He then realized he was on the outside of the hotel, and on the wrong side of a balcony. Tim screamed in terror.

"Hey Tim," Marco said, "I had to use Rachel's curling iron to cauterize that wound, I'll get her a new one tomorrow. Hey how do ya like that view?"

"Get me back up, get me up!" Tim shouted.

"I'll pull your ass up if you promise to leave Rachel alone." He said.

"Fuck you dickweed!" Tim shouted.

"Hey, Rachel I think Tim wants a closer look!" Marco said.

"No, no. Okay I'll leave her alone! Just pull me up!" He said. Marco pulled Tim up, he slumped against the balcony.

"You tell anyone what I did to you, so help me god, I will finish the job. You won't lose your junk next time!" Marco said and kicked him in the groin, making Tim howl. He left him there and packed his bags. They were gone within 2 hours.

_Police Station_

"That's a pretty fucked up story. Why now, why tell me this now?" Broadka said.

"He's far away, he can't hurt me." Tim said.

"I talked to security they think you're full of shit. I also talked to a crime scene tech. You're fingerprints are all over the skillet and knife." He said.

"Impossible, I saw him, I saw him touch the skillet." Tim said.

"I don't have proof, reasonable doubt and probable cause are two things involved here. It is sinking your case my Tranny friend." Broadka said.

"Come on, you've got to believe me, he fucking tried to kill me, he ruined my life!" Tim said.

"Unless you want to get filing a false report, I suggest you go home and take your hormones." Broadka said. Tim pushed his chair and stormed out of the room.

_ In an airport terminal in Sioux Falls, Marco and Rachel waited for their flight. Marco smiled to himself, he knew buying those flesh colored latex gloves was a good idea._


	47. Day 24 part 2

30 Days

Day 24 Part 2

Steve's car pulled up to a driveway at the end of a long cul-de-sac. The LED street lamps bathed the suburban enclave in harsh white.

"You sure this guy lives here?" Lance said as he stepped out of the car.

"If I know Alex he would never move without telling me." Steve said as the three car doors slammed. Steve made his way to the door and gave "Shave and a haircut" knock. No answer came from inside.

"Maybe he's not home?" Lance said.

"Bullshit, I called him before we made our way outta Death City. The bastard is home." Steve said. Looking at chest level he noticed a speaker, on it was a button glowing a faint pumpkin orange. He pressed it.

"Who is it?" Alex said.

"It's Engles, Marx, answer your fucking door!" Steve said.

"Why do you call each other after the writers of 'The Communist Manifesto'?" Lance said.

"It's from our old political days, back when I was an ideologue." He said. A short man in a Bad Brains T-shirt and black pants opened the door.

"Nice to hear from ya Steve, didn't know you were in Nevada?" Alex said as Steve and the others walked inside.

"I needed to get the fuck out of Ohio; the whole state was just bad news man." Steve said.

"Who're your friends?" He said.

"Alex Buckbee, This is my friend and business partner Lance James, and my adopted daughter Crona." Steve said.

"I knew you two were ass pirates!" Alex shouted.

"What the fuck," Steve shouted, "Lance is married and I have a girlfriend!" Steve said.

"Why do you have an adopted daughter?" He said.

"It's a long story, one that now involves you." Steve said.

"How so?" Alex said.

"We're kinda in some shit with some big people in the area." Steve said.

"Shibusen," Alex said, "Or, as the government refers to it, DWMA, Death Weapon Meister Academy."

"How do you know of them?" Steve said.

"Anonymous just did a big hack on Janet Napolitano's files, turned up a lot of shit on the 'fast and furious' operation, Shibusen too. Apparently it goes back to World War II when the Axis tried to work on some kind of super weapon." Alex said.

"Shinigami-sama was in bed with the Nazi's?" Steve said.

"They call him Lord Death in the files and yeah, they tried to steal some tricks off of them. CIA gave the whole academy immunity if they work for them. What did you do, embezzle funds?" Alex said.

"It's beyond the point. I am here for something other than a history lesson." Steve said. Alex walked over to his fridge and rummaged around for a bottle of Yuengling Beer.

"And that would be?" Alex said.

"The hologram." Steve said. Alex slammed the fridge.

"Aw man," Alex said, "Why the fuck, do you need that. You guys trying to get me water boarded?"

"I wouldn't ask you for this if we didn't need your help." Steve said.

"But why," Alex said, "I don't want any goddamn feds romping around here violating my constitutional rights."

"Look, we just need to disappear for a bit," Steve said, "If these guys find us we're dead."

"Okay, I'll do it but I swear to god if you fuck up I'm gonna squeal like a pig." Alex said.

"No, you won't squeal," Steve said, "I assure you this is for our best interest." Alex ushered them to a back room.

"I just got done with the latest batch. It takes me a hell of a long time to make these things." He said and pulled out a sheet with holographic stickers. The stickers were emblazoned with the words "Ron Paul 2012".

"We're going to be protected by Ron Paul propaganda?" Lance said.

"I designed this myself," Alex said, "Basically the image is printed on a special type of photothermoplastic film. This film disrupts any electromagnetic wave, bouncing it off of it and then scattering it to a nearby receptor."

"What does that mean?" Lance said.

"It means that if someone were to track you by GPS it would scatter the radio frequencies and those frequencies would pop up on their signal as any area it can get to other than yours." Alex said.

"You sure this will work?" Steve said.

"I know it will," Alex said, "Me and Corey Moore , the Liberty Alliance president tested these fucking things for 4 years. They work like a dream."

"How much do we owe ya?" Steve said.

"Nothing. As far as I'm concerned you these damn things are just sitting there pulling their pud." Alex said.

"We better get on the road then." Steve said. He shook his friend's hand and turned with the others to walk out the door.

"Freak Power!" Alex shouted his fist raised in the air.

"Damn straight." Steve said and the three began affixing the holograms.

_The Cabin_

"Hold still Maka, I know it's a bit tender." Kami said as she stuck the nail scissors underneath her ex-husband's crude stitching. Maka winced and clutched Soul's hand as Kami began removing the stitches.

"I think he's finally lost it." Soul said.

"I'd say so," Kami said, "Sewing your daughter's vagina shut is a sheer sign of lunacy." The final stitch was snipped, Kami then dabbed peroxide on the wound. Maka winced louder, her breath coming in fast hisses through her teeth.

"It's okay Maka, I'm here." Soul said.

"There," Kami said, "all better. We should really get you both to a hospital though."

"I would if I could find my keys." Soul said.

"What's stopping you?" Kami said.

"The cat in the bedroom, that's what." Soul said.

"I blew her brains out Soul, there is no way she'd survive that." Kami said.

"Apparently you don't know Blair." Soul said.

"Your dad's keys, are on the counter we can take them and get the hell out of dodge while it's still twilight." Kami said.

"What about our clothes?" Maka said.

"I gathered them up, Soul's was upstairs." Kami said. Maka limped off the couch and slid her panties half way on, when the fabric touched her privates she felt a white hot pain go through her.

"If it's painful, don't wear them." Kami said.

"I won't do anything to you Maka." Soul said. Maka smiled weakly and slid them off, pulling her skirt on. Soul slid his jeans and t-shirt on, the purple twilight fading.

"I think if we're all set we can go." Kami said. The three of them walked to the door and outside of the cabin. Kami shone a small light from Spirit's key ring. She noticed the slashed tires on both vehicles right away.

"Fuck!" Kami shouted.

"What the hell happened?" Soul said.

"Somebody knew we were going to leave, they want us to extend our stay." Maka said. A cat jumped onto the porch.

"Kami, Maka, I think we should get inside." Soul said.

"It's just a feral cat." Kami said.

"No," Soul said, "it isn't."

"It's just a feral cat, nothing more nothing less." Kami said. The cat made its way behind them.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Soul said.

"Why?" Kami said.

"That cat is not a cat, it's a witch!" Soul said.

"Bullshit," Kami said, "If it was that witch she'd try to kill us right now."

"Who said I wasn't?" Blair said.

"No fucking way." Kami said. Blair stood there, her hands wrapped around the butt of a handgun.

"Get inside," Blair said, "now!" Kami tried to race down the steps but something grabbed ahold of her leg. She turned and saw Spirit, a trail of blood behind him, grasping her.

"You'll do as she says." Spirit said.

"Mom!" Maka shouted. She spun to face Blair but felt the gun slam into her head, darkening her world. Soul bent down to pick her up but she felt like stone. Kami wriggled free of her ex-husbands grasp and raced down the steps. She turned around.

"Soul, let's go!" She shouted.

"I'm not leaving without Maka." He shouted.

"She can take care of herself, move!" Kami shouted.

"I'm her weapon, I'm supposed to protect her no matter what!" He screamed. All this time, Blair and Spirit were dragging the two of them inside.

"I'm not leaving without you.' Kami said.

"Go!" Soul shouted, and went slack accepting his fate. Kami raced down the driveway hoping to get help before worse things happened.

_Reno-Tahoe international Airport_

"Steve, its Marco. We're here." Marco said.


	48. Day 24 part 3

30 Days

Day 24 Part 3

The car made its way through the inky wooded darkness, its headlights giving off a sharp white glow. Rachel looked out the passenger side window at the night with a bemused look, spellbound and terrified.

"Where is Steve?" Rachel said turning to Marco, his hands guiding the car through night.

"Last time I checked he was somewhere near the Douglas County line, about to cross over into Washoe. That was before we stopped to get gas." He said.

"Is he going to meet us?" She said.

"He didn't say," Marco said, "All I know is he doesn't want us to go it alone. Steve knows how crazy Albarn is. If he wants it to be a team effort then it is for the best." He said taking one hand off the wheel to pat her thigh for comfort.

"Do we know if they're okay?" Rachel said.

"Steve is not a clairvoyant, Rachel; he wouldn't have any idea of what is going on there. The thing we need to focus on is taking out Albarn and whoever is working for him." He said. Marco didn't notice the woman running onto the road her hands up, urging them to stop. He slammed on the brakes rubber burning and the car lurching slightly snapping them forward and then back at a nanosecond.

"Holy shit," Rachel shouted, "is that, how did she get out on the road?"

"That's Kami," Marco said and whipped off his seatbelt, "Something is up." He got out of the car his loafers crunching on the tarred gravel.

"Kami," Marco said, she stood there with her arms wrapped around her chest, "Kami, what happened? Where's Maka and Soul?"

"They got them, they fucking have them!" Kami said, Marco signaled Rachel to get out of the car.

"She's got stuff all over her, blood mostly, looks like she fired a gun. Jesus Marco, what the hell is going on?" Rachel said.

"I don't know. She is going on about Soul and Maka. She's fucking shaking like an earthquake. Get her in the car try to calm her down; I'm going to call Steve." Marco said and pulled his iPhone out as Rachel lead Kami to the car.

_Lake View Motor Lodge_

Steve sat in the Motel at a small table with a lamp, going over the "Snow White" photographs. Lance and Crona each lay on a bed dozing. In his hand he held a magnifying glass looking over each photo for any detail, any proof that would assuage his fears. He twisted open the white bottle of Ativan and shook 3 into his palm. He knocked it back with the can of Diet Pepsi Max he had bought from a vending machine near their room. Ativan was a comfort, a way to erase fear quickly and quietly instead of breathing techniques that allowed him comfort but still kept the fear inducing thoughts. Bad thoughts, memories that make him feel uncomfortable had to be eliminated quickly, to dwell meant probably reverting to the fits he threw as a youth, he had to keep up his front for the sake of his friends. He was currently looking over the photo of Black Star. His body was in a basement with a dirt floor, the stark black and white film stock made the sense of unease stronger. He looked over every corner, every inch trying to find something. He looked at the wound, and found something. The wound was too circular, worse off there should have been a considerable amount of blood on the floor, or at least some spatter. This kill seemed too nice, too neat.

"What are you all up to?" Steve said. His cell began playing the theme to Halloween making him jump. He looked at the caller ID and noticed it was Marco's phone.

"Marco, what's up?" Steve said.

"I have Kami Albarn in the back seat of my car." He said.

"What? Where are Soul and Maka?" Steve said.

"She says that Spirit has them but she is using the word 'they' so there may be more than one person at the cabin. " Marco said.

"How far along are you?" Steve said.

"I am on Washoe County road 261; we saw a sign that said Lake View Log Homes about 2 miles down the road." He said.

"Okay, I need you to come here to Lake View Motor Lodge ASAP; it's about 30 minutes from where you are according to Google Maps, just make a left at the light. Something's not right Marco something's off." Steve said.

"I think we should go to the cabin." Marco said.

"I strongly advise that you come here, you don't know what you're up against." He said.

"If he's got Soul and Maka still, then they could be in some shit right now Steve, Rachel and I are going to go on ahead, if you don't want to come that's your choice." Marco said.

"Goddamn it Marco you are not equipped to deal with that loony tune! I am not going to lose 2 of my friends because one of them wants to be the fucking hero! Now you get your goddamn Portuguese ass here right now, or else I will personally drive over there and drag your ass here! Got it?" He shouted.

"This conversation has ended, we're leaving." Marco said and ended the call. Steve slammed his phone down on the table, rattling the contents. Lance and Crona shifted uneasy on their beds but still dozed off. Steve sat there in the silence, glancing at the photos. Then he heard an odd noise, a soft whirr and click.

"What the fuck?" He said and got up from the table. The whirr and click came again; he moved slowly towards the bathroom, the click and whirr came again. He looked up only to hear the sound again. Looking in the corner near the bed closest to the bathroom he noticed the plaster was cracked. A deep fissure zagged its way on the one side he could see in the dim light. Steve touched it and found that it had some give, that the corner was loose. He pried it off, using his nails as leverage, and looked into the lens of a camera.

"Lance, Crona, wake up!" Steve shouted. Crona sleepily blinked her eyes and sat up half way; Lance rolled over on his back and looked at his watch.

"What time is it? What's wrong?" Lance said.

"There's a fucking camera in here, somebody has been watching us." Steve said.

"What?" Lance said bolting upright and climbing off the bed.

"Someone is filming us!" Steve said. The Halloween Theme played again this time the call was from Shibusen.

"Who is this?" Steve said.

"This is your director Mr. Shroyer; I suggest you just go along with what the script says. Ignore that camera, and go on with your role." The voice said.

"Who the hell is this? Why are you filming us?" Steve said.

"We've been filming you since Day One, you just didn't notice it. Now go on to The Cabin, the next scene is being filmed there." The voice said.

"Who are you? Damnit, tell me who is this?" Steve said.

"An old friend, an old friend who worked with you when you got involved with this affair of course I was a little different then; The name is Asura, but you can call me Shinji if you like?"

"What the hell is going on?" Steve said.

"Could you look at the corner for a moment?" Asura said. Steve turned; the look on his face was one of fear and anger. "Yes! Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! That's the look I was hoping you'd have. Now move on to the cabin, hurry now." He said. The phone went dead; Steve looked at his two companions.

"Steve, are you okay?" Lance said.

"I think I've lost it, and someone is trying to make me lose it even more," Steve said and picked up his keys "We need to go, now." Lance and Crona put on their shoes and grabbed their bags.

"Who was on the phone?" Crona said.

"I don't know, but I think this thing has just gotten bigger." Steve said and climbed in the driver's seat.

_TBC _


	49. Day 25

30 Days

Day 25

It was Midnight when Marco, Rachel, and Kami pulled up behind Spirit's Ford Focus. Rachel turned and looked at the woman in the back seat.

"Are you sure you want to come in?" she asked

"He has my daughter," Kami said, "I would do anything for her." Marco looked at Rachel.

"Well if we're going in then we're going to be prepared for anything." He said and opened the glove compartment, pulling out a slick black handgun. It was a Baretta 92FS handgun loaded with 9mm hollow points. The gun would fuck whoever crosses its path up. Rachel went into her purse and pulled out a similar 9mm handgun and clicked the clip into the weapon.

"You're not going to kill him are you?" Kami asked.

"Not unless he does something stupid." Marco said and got out of the car. The full moon cast an eerie glow upon the cabin. Rachel and Kami shut their doors and slowly made their way to the cabin, feet crunching gravel. Marco stood at the side of the door his handgun raised; Rachel turned the knob slowly and opened the door. Marco swiftly made his way inside looking left and right to see if anyone was near him. It was then he heard Maka scream. The sound came from the downstairs master bedroom Marco moved slowly towards the bedroom a faint glow of light fell from the bottom of the door. Maka screamed again. He raised his foot and slammed it on the door, bursting it open. Maka was restrained on the bed; Spirit was on top of her. There were several marks on her body were flesh had been ripped off by his teeth. Blood pooled around Maka's groin. It was then he saw what spirit was doing. Wrapped around his member was a coil of razor wire.

"Get the fuck off of her!" Marco shouted. Spirit turned his head; he looked as if he had gone feral.

"Interloper," he hissed, "Die!" and leapt off the bed. Marco fired his gun but it didn't slow him down. He and Marco collapsed to the ground, his hands wrapped around Marco's throat. Rachel rushed in and planted her boot across Spirit's head, knocking him to the floor unconscious. Rachel raced over and began to untie Maka. She was sobbing hard, her breaths choppy and deep.

"It's okay, it's okay Maka, we're here." Rachel said and held the girl close to him.

"Fucking sick bastard," Marco said and turned to Kami, "Is there anywhere we can dump him?"

"The cellar, we can dump him there." Kami said and walked over to Spirit. She grabbed his legs while Marco had his shoulders. They set him down for a moment to open the trap door before tossing him down the steps.

Meanwhile down in the cellar, a little witch smelled something, something sweet and tasty. She crawled on her hands and knees, salivating until she found the source of the treat. The bad man had brought her a present, a gummy worm. Angela grabbed ahold of the gummy worm, peeled off the wrapper and bit into it.

_On the road to the Cabin_

"Steve I don't understand why you are acting so paranoid." Lance said.

"I am paranoid my dear friend, because somebody has been watching me since Soul got re-infected." Steve said as the car made the final turn off to the cabin.

"Why would someone be doing that?" Lance said.

"I am a freaking loony, Lance. It's called Asperger's. I have Asperger's with co-morbidity with Bi-Polar and Obsessive Compulsive Personality disorder. I have got most of these kishens they talk about beat by a million miles my friend." Steve said.

"You take meds for that and see a shrink; you function just fine in the real world." Lance said.

'Yeah," Steve said, "Well someone is trying to make me malfunction." Steve said and pulled behind Marco and Rachel's car. The Lights inside the cabin were on.

"Marco and Rachel are in there and it looks neutralized." Steve said.

"Neutralized?" Lance said.

"It means the whooped ass and took names." He said. Steve opened his door and raced toward the cabin. He threw open the screen door and looked around.

"Marco? Rachel?" Steve shouted.

"In here Steve!" Rachel shouted. Steve walked into the master bedroom. The bed was adorned with large spots of blood; Maka herself looked like she had been chewed to bits.

"What the fuck happened here?" Steve asked.

"Albarn went into full Kishen mode it seems." Rachel said.

"Where's Soul?" Steve said.

"Marco and Kami are looking, so far they can't find him or anyone else." She said. Lance walked in and recoiled at the sight of Maka.

"Call an ambulance buddy, maybe the Washoe County Sherriff's Department. We are going to need them." Steve said. Lance walked out trying not to choke. Just then, the phone rang. Steve picked it up.

"Great, welcome to the next scene." Asura said.

"What the fuck do you want?" Steve said.

"The cameras are placed near the entrance of the cellar could you open the door, please." Asura said. Steve walked out to the living room and saw the faded brass hoop that opened the door to the cellar. Holding the phone to his ear he bent over and pulled on the ring. In the garish light of the living room he saw Angela, the little witch, and an unconscious Spirit Albarn. There was a bloody stump where his genitals used to be. Angela made small munching sounds, it was then he noticed the bloody tube of flesh in Angela's mouth. She stopped chewing and looked up at Steve, her mouth rimed with blood and gore.

"Mister, will you come play with me?" She said. Steve screamed. Asura's laugh could be heard on the phone.

"She's a monster, what do we do with monsters?" Asura said.

"I don't know?" Steve said.

"We kill them; we kill them so they don't harm others. In this scene you kill the monster in the basement!" Asura said.

"No, No I won't. She's just a kid!" Steve said.

"It's in the script." Asura said.

"I won't fucking do it!" Steve said.

"If you don't do it, then Maka loses her scythe!" Asura said.

"What?" Steve said.

"You wonder why you don't see Soul around. We have him, and if you don't follow the script we end him. Got it?" Asura said. Steve looked around and saw Rachel's handgun on the table. He picked it up and walked over to the cellar, Rachel looked out from the bedroom.

"Steve what's wrong? Why do you have my gun?" Steve?" Rachel said as she walked out, Steve stood over the cellar. Angela looked up at him.

"You're not going to hurt me, are you mister?" She said. Steve sighed.

"Father, forgive them. They know not what they do." Steve said and unloaded the gun into Angela. Steve knelt to the ground and began to weep, screaming and banging his fists on the floor. From the phone, Asura could be heard saying "Bravo, Bravo, Bravo." Rachel looked into the cellar and then at Steve.

"What have you done?" Rachel said.

"I have crossed into the dark side." Steve said.

TBC


	50. Day 25 Part 2

30 Days

Day 25 Part 2

Rachel stared at the corpses of Angela Leone and Sprit Albarn in the cellar. She had never had seen that much carnage in her life, she then walked over to Steve who stood looking out the window of the cabin, into the receding night.

"I have no clue what is going on Rachel," Steve said, "They're going to pin the little witch's death on me, probably many others too by the looks of it. I think it's best if I just left and we never see each other ever again, same for Marco and Lance." He walked towards the door, and turned towards his friends. "I am the nowhere man. I exist nowhere and I was nowhere." Steve said and opened the door and walked out to his car. Firing up his car he put on a mix CD, the first track played, "Hurt" By Nine Inch Nails came over the speakers. He knew where he needed to go, and drove there silently as the sun rose.

The paramedics and police raced pulled in and made quick work of the cabin. Maka was placed on a stretcher, her skin pale and her body limp, looking as if she would break.

"Where's Soul?" Maka said. Rachel clasped her hand.

"I don't know? Steve went to look for him." She said.

"I want him, I want him. I'm so scared!" Maka said.

"It's going to be okay, Steve knows what he's doing." She said and watched as they loaded her into the Ambulance. Marco walked up behind her as the Ambulance drove off.

"We got problems." He said.

"Tell me about it, Steve shot that little girl to death and he may go out and harm more. Rachel said.

"She wasn't a little girl, and that wasn't Albarn." Marco said.

"What do you mean?" She said.

"I think you better come inside." He said. Rachel walked in just as they brought out the body bags. He made his way towards the cellar and flashed his Shibusen badge. He pointed a pen light at the steps of the cellar. Rachel stared at the steps and the drops of black blood on them.

"Big deal," Rachel said, "We know Albarn is a kishen."

"Rachel," Marco said, "I just got a call from Spirit Albarn, he's in Europe with Blair. They know nothing about this."

"You're kidding?" Rachel said. Marco shook his head.

"I don't know exactly what is going on here, but it's big. I think we all need to head back." He said.

"What about Maka?" Rachel said

"She'll be okay; right now I am worried about Steve." Marco said.

"Guys," Lance shouted from outside, "I think you should look at this?" Marco and Rachel raced outside; Lance was bending over a laptop on the hood of Marco's car.

"I checked Albarn's story, it is air tight, and that's not the issue. The issue is this," Lance said and backed away from the laptop. On the screen was a map, Death City was missing.

"What the hell?" Marco said.

"That's not the worst of it, the date on my computer says today is March 30, 2009. That's the day Asura was defeated." Lance said.

"I don't understand?" Rachel said.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Lance said.

"How is this happening?" Marco said.

"I don't know, but we are going to find out." Lance said and pointed at the skull masked figure walking up to them.

"Greetings all," Shinigami-sama said, "I think an explanation is in order."

"I think more than that is in order!" Rachel said.

"If you would all come to my office I think I can give you some answers." He said and turned an invisible knob. The scenery opened up to reveal his office on the other side.

"This is messed up." Marco said.

"I don't think you know the half of it my good man." Shinigami-sama said and walked through. The others followed and were greeted by a familiar group of people. Kid, The Thompsons, Black Star and Tsubaki stood off to the side. The Thompsons and Tsubaki were all crying on their respective meisters shoulder.

"What in the hell is going on?" Marco said.

"You four are lucky I got you out alive and with your sanity intact. The level of madness in there is enough to turn anyone into a kishen." Shinigami-sama said.

"What do you mean got us out?" Lance said.

"I will be frank with you all," Shinigami-sama said, "My elite unit here at the academy was dispatched to a college town in Ohio. There was a coven of witches there that was using the psychology department as a cover for their activities. One of the graduate students found an old text at the library. I believe it is one your friend is familiar with, The Necronomicon? They were using it to spread madness across the campus. Apparently, from what these five members have told me, just before the witches were all destroyed and their souls consumed, someone managed to do an incantation that has the similar effect as a nuclear bomb. All 7 members were knocked out and when they awoke, it was like nothing ever happened. Then Soul Evans began having the nightmares, and the black blood nosebleeds."

"Fallout," Marco said, "It's fallout from the incantation."

"That is what our reports are saying. So far we have most of it taken care of, Spirit Albarn and his ex-wife are in Europe right now, well, he still is, she left to come here after we told her what has been happening to her daughter. Alas some of our staff members and faculty are not so lucky. We lost Stein, which is a shame." He continued.

"How did you get people out, and why wasn't everyone affected?" Lance said.

"Mr. James how well do you know your business partner?" Shinigami-sama said.

"He's my best friend, why?" Lance said.

"I hate to spoil your image of Mr. Shroyer, but do you know where he was about 24 days ago?" Shinigami-sama said.

"He was visiting family in Ohio? You are not saying that he, he's not?" Lance said.

"Mr. Shroyer is a warlock, and he was the one that started all this, yes. I am afraid someone from Maaba's coven got to him first. It's surprising how once you take someone off their medication their madness shows." Shinigami-sama said.

"No, I won't believe it, he's a good man!" Lance said.

"These are the facts my friend. You cannot change them."

"But why Soul and Maka, what is his reasoning for doing this to them?" Marco said.

"Think back, who is Mr. Shroyer's ideal woman?" Shinigami-sama said.

"You don't mean?" Marco said.

"He's out to break Maka, to make her his own." Shinigami-sama said. Crona wept softly, her dreams shattered.

"I think it's best if we all get some rest, this has been hard for all of us." Rachel said. Shinigami-sama nodded and escorted them down the hall.

"


	51. Day 26

30 Days

Day 26

_Authors Note- First of all I would like to apologize to the readers of this fan fic for the gap between updates. A lot of stuff has been going on both personal (Graduating College, Eye Surgery) and Psychological that has kept me away from the written word. This update would not have been possible without the support from my dear friend Marco whose discussion of a book he was reading got the gears turning and the fingers typing. Second of all the incantation used in the story is a real incantation from the book "The Necronomicon Spellbook" originally published by Avon books, and belongs to the author and its publisher, not me. Now sit back, crack open a Dr. Pepper, maybe put on some Philip Glass("Organic" from the Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack is preferred) and relax, I'm going to tell you a story-Steve_

Marco paced back and forth in the small guest room Shinigami-sama had put him and his wife in. He had run the gamut of emotions, from happy to be out of that nightmare, to sheer panic as he wondered what has become of his friend.

"What the fuck are we going to do?" Marco said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I don't think there is anything we can do," Rachel said, "you heard the guy, he's a freaking loony tune, completely and utterly bat shit crazy. I think we should just pack up and head back to Yankton."

"You want to give up is that it?" Marco said.

"Marco," Rachel said, "I think you don't grasp…" Marco turned to her with pure hatred in his eyes.

"You want to leave our friend, the one person who is like a brother to me, the one person who cares for me like I'm his goddamn family, to be fucking savaged by these people? How fucked up are you?" He said.

"He's my friend too Marco!" Rachel shouted.

"Then why the fuck are you giving up on him?" He shot back.

"Because he's beyond our help, Marco," Rachel said, "He's gone, there is no humanity left, no decency. He has become a monster, and the sooner you realize that the better off you'll be."

"You don't know that, there may be a part of him still in there!" Marco said.

"Look, I know this is hurting you, it's hurting everyone here. But, we can't spend the rest of our time here trying to save a lost cause. It's over Marco; the Steve you knew is dead." Rachel turned over and stared at the clock.

"I just wish I could help him." Marco said.

"Get some sleep, babe," Rachel said, "We've been through hell, and we at least deserve some peace." Marco got under the covers and kissed her softly on the neck.

"I love you." Marco whispered, wrapped his arms around her warm body and drifted off.

_Inside the Fallout_

Steve knew something was off, internally and externally. He was having one of his famous nerve attacks, ones he thought he had rid himself of; suddenly the racing thoughts and fluttery sensation came on full force. He had also noticed that he was in Death City, not some Podunk little town in Nevada where he should have been. He looked at his Magellan GPS.

"What in the hell is going on?" Steve said. He tapped his GPS's touch screen. The friendly female voice didn't respond like it normally did, instead a deep voice began speaking, its sound filling the car.

"ZI KIA KANPA, ZIA ANNA KANPA, ZI DINGIR KIA KANPA, ZI DINGIR ANNA KANPA." The voice said. Steve sat there transfixed, he had heard these words before, but where? The voice continued.

"Hear me now oh MARDUK, come to me by the powers of the word DUGGA, and answer my urgent prayer. ZI KIA KANPA, ZI ANNA KANPA." The voice said. Silence filled the car. Steve looked at himself in the rear view mirror, his mind racing. He saw the images in the back of his mind, the blue haired ninja slashing his secret crush, the one who he pined for in anime club, the boy with the two guns firing aimlessly, his bullets hitting their targets, and he saw Maka. He saw the moonlight streaming through the 3rd floor of the student center, her frail body, holding that scythe. Her, he wanted her, no one else, and she had to be his. She had to be his, and he had to be her first, her last, her everything. Steve looked at himself in the rear view mirror, a small trickle of black blood flowing from his nose. He put his fingers to his nose and dabbed them in the blood. He licked the tips of them and savored the metallic taste. He began to laugh, a small chuckle turned into a maniacally loud belly laugh.

"Don't worry Maka," Steve shouted, "I'll save you!" And gunned his engine through the fragile fabric of the world he made.

_Outside the Fallout Zone_

Kami sat in Shinigami-sama's office, thumbing through the latest file on what was being called an Extinction Level Event.

"So all the stuff that occurred earlier, the confusing elements, they were him?" She said.

"He made this whole thing, the world or what's left of it now, is his creation. I assume he was still taking his medication when he began creating such odd events." Shinigami-sama said.

"So, Steve talking to his brother on the phone, or the sudden shifts in continuity was his medication." Kami said.

"The anti-psychotics and anti-anxiety medications sort of altered how the madness could be controlled, now that he's off them, he has 100 percent domination of the world." He said.

"What now? " Kami said.

"Well, in this kind of situation we would normally see if any humanity or sanity is left in the person and go from there. Mr. Shroyer however is too far gone. If my calculations are correct the madness has spread 100 percent throughout his body, the only possible option is extermination. "He said.

"You know that isn't going to sit well with his friends, or Gorgon's daughter." Kami said.

"That is true, but right now we have a top meister and a death scythe in there. If we lose them then we may as well shut down." Shinigami-sama said.

"We still got Ford and D'éclair, they are about as good as my daughter and Soul." Kami said.

"Not anymore, they both died, I got the message from Mira before you came in." He said.

"How, they seemed healthy when I was in the clinic?" She said.

"The madness level is quite strong as you know; being inside for an extended period without some kind of subconscious buffer can have adverse psychological side effects. Mr. Ford and Mr. D'éclair were found in the same bed, holding each other. Ox was found to have a high level of cyanide in his system. Havar stabbed himself in the chest with a scalpel. We checked the security cameras and found the audio to be quite disturbing. They were quoting Shakespeare."

"'Romeo and Juliet,' that's Shroyer's favorite tragedy," Kami said, "But they were outside the fallout zone, how could he have control of them?"

"I am sorry to tell you this, Ox and Havar are not going to be the only ones who die." Shinigami-sama said.

"What are you talking about?" Kami said.

"Unfortunately we have found that the longer you stay inside the fallout, even with a buffer, small amounts of Black Blood do enter the system. You, Shroyer's friends, and Gorgon's Daughter were in there almost 30 days. In that amount of time you absorbed about 200 parts per million of extremely potent black blood. This Black Blood stays small inside the fallout zone, outside however it begins to spread wildly causing the person infected to lose free will and become a puppet of the blood's source." Shinigami-sama said.

"How long?" Kami said.

"Four days, "He said, "Unless we eliminate the source."

"What about Maka and Soul?" She said.

"I am afraid they are a lost cause, their friends too. Inside the fallout zone he already infected them. We got the 5 weapon and meister teams on stabilizers but unless we eliminate the source then you're all going to be too far gone." He said. Kami looked at the wall of video monitors. Steve's friends sleeping peacefully, Soul and Maka's Friends comforting each other, she felt the consuming darkness that was inside them. A small tear ran down her cheek, they would all be lost, their lives destroyed, unless an unfortunate soul consumed by hatred was in turn consumed by the very instrument of his death. It was a no win situation. She left the office dreading the coming staff briefing and the news that would come.

TBC


	52. Day 27

30 Days

Day 27

Shinigami-sama looked at the reports on his desk, and then looked at Mira Naigus. The fallout was still there, no doubt about that, but the events surrounding the whole incident were becoming quite bizarre and illogical. Just a day after he had told Kami that those inside the zone would die, a report landed on the desk to the contrary.

"You're 100 percent on this?" he said.

"I've done the research. The only casualties were D'éclair and Ford but their deaths were not black blood related. Something bad is going on, sir, whatever it is it has got us bad." Mira said

"Well now I have to apologize the living hell out of Kami, other than that I think we can begin plans to take care of the book store guy." Shinigami-sama said.

"This brings me to my next point. How sure are we that Shroyer is in fact the one doing this?" Mira said.

"What do you mean?" He said.

"What is the probability that in fact there may be something more at work here? Have we ruled out Soul Evans 100 percent? Mira said.

"Stein's work on the subject is clear, Evans is not the source." Shinigami-sama said.

"No offense sir," Mira said, "But I have gone over Dr. Stein's studies and I'll be honest with you, they don't hold up."

"How so?" Shinigami-sama said.

"The data from his tests and the medical records for Mr. Evans doesn't mathematically add up to form quantifiable data. In other words sir, there may be a possibility that he may be behind all this." Mira said.

"Do you have any proof? " He said. Mira smiled and set a file on the desk, Shinigami-sama flipped open the folder and saw a statement from the bank where Shibusen funds were stored. On the top of the page was a deposit for ten million dollars, into a personal account for Shinigami-sama. Beside it read a name, Joseph Evans, Soul's Father.

"Care to explain this sir?" Mira said. Shinigami-sama felt the noose tighten. It was crashing down around him.

_Inside the Fallout_

Maka began to stir into consciousness, like drifting from a dazed, drugged sleep. Surprisingly enough she felt no pain, memories of the cabin, and the torture had faded like a dream. She moved her hand to touch her private areas to check for sutures but found nothing but wet, slick flesh and the sense that she had somehow wanted to go on and release some tension. The knock on the door stopped that. Moving her hand quickly back to the side of the bed, Maka looked and saw Steve standing there.

"Hi Maka," he said, "How are you feeling?" Maka smiled faintly.

"Fine. Where's Soul?" She said.

"Out in the waiting room, he's sleeping right now. I'd hate to wake him; he's been through so much." Steve said.

"Yes, we both have been through hell. It would be nice to get back home, back to normal." She said.

"I understand." Steve said and clasped her hand.

"The one thing I don't understand is why does everything happen to us 3, why not everyone else here?" Maka said. Steve smiled and patted her hand.

"It'll be all over soon, trust me." He said.

"How do you know?" She said.

"I know a lot of stuff Maka." Steve said. Maka looked at him, and saw a drop of black blood fall from his eye. Maka looked at him in horror.

"You, you're," Maka stammered.

"Don't worry Maka; Ni-san will take good care of you!" Steve said and pressed his lips to hers. She fought back, her hands fumbling for any weapon she could get. She found a digital alarm clock on the table and smashed it on his head. Steve reared back; Maka kicked him onto the floor and jumped off the bed. She ran towards the door, but Steve managed to grab her by the shoulder and try to force her back in. Maka took her left foot and began hammering it into his left shin, he wouldn't relent.

"You're not going anywhere bitch!" Steve hissed. Maka seized the hand that was on her shoulder and sunk her teeth into it, biting down hard. Black blood flowed as her teeth sunk into sinew and tendon before snapping the joint of his right index finger. Steve screamed his cry like a wounded animal, a loud bleat of pain. Maka let go and spat out a wad of flesh before racing down the hall. Steve clutched his wound and whimpered in pain.

"You're dead bitch! You're fucking dead!" He screamed. Maka heard him from down the hall. Racing towards the waiting room, she noticed that the hospital was vacant, the desks, the rooms, all devoid of any people, a lurching fear grew in the pit of Maka's stomach. She was alone with a psychopath.

_Outside the Fallout_

"I didn't mean for all this to happen." Shinigami-sama said.

"How is Joseph Evans involved?" Mira said.

"He's the founder of the Cthulhu Group." He said.

"What is that?" She said.

"It's a society for those who want to experience other realms beyond this one, darker realms, beyond space and time." He said

"What do they want with Soul, with Shibusen?" Mira said.

He began, "In 2008, I was contacted by a member of the group about obtaining several religious texts, one of which was the Necronomicon. I was told this was for a research project. I declined of course. Around the same time one of the members got in contact with Medusa Gorgon, she was doing some research into black blood and kishens. They were very interested in that so they asked her to present her research at a meeting in Providence, Rhode Island. They believed that her black blood was the key to allow people to enter these other realms. 2 months later Soul Evans became infected."

"In 2009 I received a report from our counter intelligence division that said "Mabaa aligns with society for possible ELE, Extinction Level Event. We had been told by several informants that Mabaa had been working with a guy in the Cthulhu group to release a massive amount of black blood into the world. They planned to try to get the soul of a person to resonate so highly that it would affect the entire planet. When Evan's Black Blood returned, they used a woman who was possessed by Medusa in our health department to give Soul a stimulant that would accelerate his soul wavelength. He went into the nurse's office 2 days before he became re inflicted for a flu shot. The rest is what is now going on."

"That doesn't explain Evan's payment to your account." Mira said.

"After Evans became infected, I told my son Kid, to take care of the problem. No more than two hours after he left, Joseph Evans called me and offered me the money to keep my people from killing his boy. He noted that I did nothing after I saw the report in 09 and that it could lead to a huge shit storm. He promised me recurring payments every week for a little over four weeks. I couldn't risk the academy over my mistake. I am not infallible Mira."

"You know when this gets out people will be asking for your head." She said.

"Let them come at me, I deserve this." He said. Shinigami-sama's intercom buzzed.

"Yes?" He said.

"There is a disturbance outside, some guy claiming to be Steve Shroyer is trying to get past security and is throwing a shit fit." A voice said. Mira looked at him.

"I'll handle it." He said and walked to the front desk.

"Can somebody please tell me what the fuck is going on here?" Steve said.

_TBC_


	53. Day 27 Part 2

30 Days

Day 27 part 2

Steve was visibly harried. His round spectacles seemed as if they could not contain his pupils, his face was as red as dwarf star ready for implosion. Shinigami-sama raised a hand for the two guards to release him to which they let go and let Steve approach the death god.

"I leave for less than a week, a FUCKING WEEK, and already I am being accosted by armed guards." Steve growled.

"You have to understand we're in a heightened state of alert as of now, we're just taking precautions you know." Shinigami-sama said as Steve walked behind him with his hands firmly in his blue jeans side pockets.

"Heightened state of alert huh? Does that give you an excuse to have these fucks accuse me of being a kishen, then try to beat the fuck outta me. Let me tell ya man, you got some fucking welcoming committee here. "He snidely replied. The doors to the death room opened, Mira had remained in her spot thumbing through her file. She glanced up at Steve.

"Welcome back," She said, "How was Portland?" Steve slumped in a chair.

"I drank too much microbrew and read a little too much Bizarro but all in all I secured some readings for the store. You?" Steve said his tone as cool as a cucumber but still filled with venom.

"I was just wrapping up the report we talked about, Shinigami-sama just got briefed today." She said.

"Oh really," Steve said, "And does he know that by the time word gets out about it his ass will be out on the curb faster than a jizz stained sofa."

"I am quite aware of the implications this has on me, Mr. Shroyer" Shinigami-sama curtly replied as he sat at his desk.

"Then I guess you know what to do then?" Steve smirked.

"If you're asking me to step down then the answer is no, my academy needs me at this point and right now to leave my post abandoned would be highly irresponsible."

"You don't call accepting bribes from a cult and allowing an evil to go unchecked irresponsible? You don't call the hell me and my friends have been through irresponsible? You don't call the hell these kids have been through irresponsible? What kind of fucking person are you?" Steve said.

"I have a duty to my academy and my meisters, weapons, and scythes; surely you understand that this is not an appropriate time for me to just abandon everything." Shinigami-sama shouted.

"You fucking gave up that duty when you started taking payments from Joe Evans! As far as I'm concerned you have no authority over this situation. Mira and I are going to gather the remaining scythes and my team here to discuss the report. You are to begin the process of picking your replacement to serve after this incident has passed, pending further disciplinary action. Steve coldly replied.

"Who the fuck do you think you are coming into my academy and ordering me out. How dare you," Steve cut him off.

"How dare you sir! As of this moment I am assuming control of this academy and this operation. If you have any problem with that, the door is right there. Don't let it hit ya where the good lord split ya." Steve said and began walking out the door.

"SHINIGAMI NOGGIN," Shinigami-sama shouted but before he could land a blow, Steve grasped the hand and twisted it hard. Shinigami-sama howled in pain.

"The next time you want to fucking 'Noggin Chop' someone," Steve smirked "Make sure you know who the fuck you're chopping. They may just fight back." He gave the wrist one final jerk making a sick, cracking sound before he let go. Shinigami-sama placed his head on his desk and cradled his injured wrist. The game was up.

_Inside the Fallout_

Soul didn't like his current form. Of course it got close to Maka, but it wanted to do damage to her too easily. As he clutched the oozing wound on his right hand, he surveyed the scene. Maka was around somewhere, and possibly armed with some sort of sharp object or a blunt one at that. Soul stood at the elevator doors and looked at the shiny chrome that covered them. In the dim, almost steel grey light of the hospital's hallways he his reflection looked ghostly, almost phantasmagoric.

"I must get to Maka." Soul said and then closed his eyes. The black blood cells vibrated, shaking every molecule in his body, every strand of DNA winding and unwinding. He felt a warmth fall over him, like slipping into a bath, the large Timberland boots changed into modest patent leather wing tips, the blue jeans darkened into a deep black, then stiffened into dress pants. The disciples cross twisted and spun itself into a dark black tie, tendrils of deep crimson flowed out of it covering him in a red button down dress shirt and then a wave of black surrounded him as it formed a black suit with white pinstripes. The short brown hair on his head exploded into a spikey mass of pure white hair, bones in his face reshaped, his teeth grew sharp and pointy and his eyes turned from muddy brown to deep red. Soul checked himself in the elevator. He wiped a fleck of black blood from his hand where his previous form had been wounded.

Pressing the down button Soul watched the uptick of the numbers as it met him on the fifth floor. Stepping in he stared down at the floor and sniffed the air. He could smell the faint aroma of Vanilla and Lavender. Soul slurped back the drool coming out of his mouth. He could smell her soul and it made him hungry like an animal. He pushed the button to take him to the second floor.

Maka could hear the whirring of the elevator as it made its way down to her floor. She was hiding underneath a large reception desk clutching a scalpel she had pilfered from an abandoned operating room she had discovered while looking for a security guard. Her mouth was dry, random neurons were firing off messages giving her a flighty feeling that made her want to heave. The whirring stopped and the slow thunk and hiss of the elevator doors opening sent her in a panic. Then she heard a voice.

"Maka?" it said. Soul, it was Soul, her heart leapt up into her chest she slid out from under the desk and slowly stood up.

"Soul?" she said warily.

"Yes babe, it's me. Come on out here." He said. Maka stood up and raced over to him, embracing him in a hug.

"Is he dead, did you get him?" Maka sobbed.

"I slashed him up, Steve won't hurt you anymore." He said. Maka pressed her face into his shoulder and sobbed harder. Soul stroked her blond hair and hushed her.

"Come on babe, let's go home." Soul said, Maka took his hand and went towards the Second floor parking garage like a lamb to the slaughter.

_Outside the Fallout_

Steve and Mira stood in the conference room looking out at the assembled members of the team. Steve's friends looked haggard. Lance's once cheerful round face had taken on a ghastly pallor, Marco had bags forming under his eyes giving him the look of a cartoon ghoul, and Rachel's blond locks showed signs of breakage making her seem as if she had been on a 3 night drug bender. The Scythes and Meisters hadn't fared well either. Spirit Albarn had cut his European vacation short and had shown up in a rumpled black suit coat, the result of sleeping in the lounge. Marie Mjolnir was still in mourning over Stein, her uncovered eye was red rimmed and smeared with remnants of eye shadow and mascara. Yumi Azusa just stared blankly into space. Steve had received word that she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Steve looked out onto this sea of doomed souls, unsure if he could pull off a move that would get them into fighting shape. With a sigh he began to lead the meeting.

"Okay, I know we've been through hell the past twenty-seven days. We've lost some good people, we've seen horrors beyond the imagination, but let me assure you there is light at the end of the tunnel here." Steve confidently spoke.

"If you look at your files here you will see a copy of the report Ms. Naigus has made regarding the fallout and the incidents of the past twenty-seven days here. We now have conclusive proof that the events here were the cause of one person, that person being Soul Evans. The false leads, confusing clues and dead ends were the result of the black blood in his body assimilating with his DNA. It is now becoming evident that we may see full assimilation within twenty-four to thirty-six hours." The group stared intently at the folder. Marie raised her hand.

"It says here there was an attempt to kill Soul before this got worse, why didn't Shinigami-sama go through with it?" She said quizzically.

"If you would all turn to the next page I believe I have Marie's answer," Steve said "This here is a bank statement here for the personal account of Shinigami-sama. Since Soul's recent infection he has been receiving payments from an account held by Soul's father Joseph. Joseph sits on the executive board of The Cthulhu Group, an organization that devotes itself to opening realms beyond time and space. For those of you who are not Lovecraft fans, basically they are trying to open a gateway to the city of The Great Old Ones, R'lyeh. These old beings have existed way before us and have been known to cause madness in humans."

"Aliens?" Marco said.

"In a way yes, they are aliens. These 'aliens' used to rule us but now have fallen into a deep sleep. The Cthulhu Group's goal is to wake them up, as you can see on list of members we have obtained, there are many political bigwigs from the right and the left. I think you'll recognize some of them."

"Lamar Smith, I knew that fucker was a scumbag!" Marco said. Marco was referring to the congressman who had proposed an internet copyright law that would have virtually screwed not just pirates but the whole world as a result.

"If we can get back on topic here, you'll also notice that various enemies of this academy are also on their payroll. Looking down the list, we got Medusa and Arachne Gorgon, Eruka Frog, Free, and last but not least Mabaa."

"What would an alien think tank want to do with witches?" Spirit said.

"It's not what the witches do themselves; it's the research they were working on, particularly here in 08 when Medusa Gorgon was the academy's nurse. These guys feel that the black blood in a kishen would serve as a catalyst to open up the gateway to R'lyeh. They just need a key that will fit the lock to open the door. We have already seen these past several days how potent this stuff is. This stuff can make and shape realities at will, once it gains control of a person, all bets are off. It needs one thing to make it complete."

"That is?" Yumi said.

"Mira and I did some research before we held this meeting. The black blood is strong once is assimilates the DNA of its host, but it needs fuel really amp up its power. Soul is a scythe by trade, what do scythes or any weapons here eat?"

"Oh god, you mean?" Kami said realizing what Steve was going to say next.

"Yes, right now Soul is inside a realm of his own making with the one thing that could send this thing over the edge. A Grigori soul is like an atomic bomb blast. If Soul consumes one he will have enough energy to sustain himself eternally. I'll be blunt, Maka is very trusting of Soul, and she has the mindset that he can do no harm to her now. Unless we get in there and stop him before her kills her and consumes her soul, we might as well say goodbye to life as we know it. This is an Extinction Level Event." Steve coldly intoned. The group stared in shock, eyes darting back and forth in a maddening exercise of fear; voices began to chatter at once fighting for attention.

"Why didn't Shinigami-sama stop this, why did he let it continue?" Marie sobbed.

"He was on their payroll; Evans paid him to keep his son alive. The academy was about to lose Defense Department funding, he panicked Marie. He's not infallible."

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN IF HE PANICKED," Marie shouted, "MY BOYFRIEND, MY STEIN, DIED, AND HE JUST STOOD BACK AND WATCHED, AND ALL SO HE COULD KEEP HIMSELF IN BUSSINESS!"

"Marie, calm down okay. I'm going to take care of it." Steve said

"HOW? HOW IS ONE LITTLE DIPSHIT BOOKWORM, GOING TO FIX THIS! WHAT, ARE YOU GOING TO DO SOME KIND OF JESUS CHRIST, HOCUS POCUS AND BRING HIM BACK? YOU ARE SO FULL OF SHIT!" Marie raged.

"Marie, Mira and I have already told Shinigami-sama that he needs to find a replacement after this incident is wrapped up. As of right now I am in charge of this operation and the functions of the academy." Steve calmly replied.

"OH, FUCK THIS!" Marie shouted and stormed out of the room. Steve placed his palm on his forehead and let out a sigh.

"Look," Steve said, "I know this has been a hard road for all of us. I do not blame Marie for getting as mad as she did. I know three people here who would like to draw and quarter me in the middle of downtown. Right now the focus should be on what is going to happen if we don't act, not on the actions of one person. I need you all to help me on this, if not for me, then for Maka. Okay?" Steve said. Just then a loud alarm buzzed in the room, red lights began flashing in the corner.

"What's going on?" Lance said.

"I don't know," Steve said and went to the conference room door to look outside, Security Guards raced past him "Something's up, Mira, Kami come with me, this doesn't look good." Steve said and bolted out the door, the two women behind him.

Steve raced down the hall following the security guards; catching up to one of them he began to question him.

"What the hell is going on?" Steve shouted.

"We got a code blue." The Guard said.

"What the hell is a code blue?" Steve asked

"Code Blue is an attempt on Shinigami-sama's life" The Guard said. Steve paused then his eyes grew wide in fear.

"Marie!" Steve shouted. He began to speed up his run, slamming through doors and knocking people over.

Steve made it to The Death Room and skidded to a stop. There lying on the floor was Shinigami-sama, a pool of blood ran from his neck.

"Shit," He shouted, "I need a medic now!" He said and raced over to the dead headmaster. His mask was cocked sideways; a piercing blue eye looked at him in wide eyed fright. Marie sat in a corner her knees tucked to her chest. In her hand was a shard of mirror glass. Security guards rushed in and began checking for a pulse.

"Marie, Marie why did you do this?" Steve exclaimed. Marie sat there. The medics came and tried to stop the bleeding.

"Marie," Steve said walking up to her, "Put the shard down and talk to me. Why did you do this?"

Through the chaos Steve heard her whisper, "My beloved, I'm coming home." Marie lifted her neck.

"No!" Steve shouted but before he could reach her she had slashed into her throat. She slashed in a sawing motion, blood spraying from her arteries. Steve leapt onto her and tried to get her to stop, but her hand fell limp, she was dead. Steve turned around and saw Kami and Mira staring in horror, and then saw the sheet being draped over Shinigami-sama. Steve hung his head, and began to cry and slam his fists into the ground.

"SOUL!" He shouted in furious rage, repeating it over and over. Kami walked over and comforted him, herself sobbing wildly. Steve sucked in a breath, his eyes grew steely cold with rage. He broke the embrace.

"Kami, Mira, get the team ready. We're going to get that bastard!" He said and walked off.

_TBC_


	54. Chapter 54

30 Days

Day 28

Steve sat in the dimly lit conference room; his hands clasped serving as a resting spot for his head. Marie was dead. Death seemed to be everywhere in this place, breathing down he and his friends necks. As he stared off at a dark patch ahead of him, he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." Steve said. His voice tinged with a raspy pallor that could only be due to his lack of sleep. Rachel walked in the door and closed it behind her.

"I need to talk to you." She said standing in front of the door, her frame a dark blur in Steve's peripheral vision.

"What is there to talk about? Shinigami-sama's dead, Maka could be dead already and I am about to lead my friends into the abyss." Steve said.

"Nothing makes sense Steve," Rachel shouted, "The report says Medusa Gorgon is alive. She committed suicide. There are all these things here that don't add up, homicides, suicides, and this report says that some of them were not even real."

"Rachel," Steve said, "How is your perception of reality?"

"It's very good; I can differentiate between fiction and reality quite well." She said.

"What if I were to tell you that a vast majority of these events that occurred in the past four weeks have been nothing but an elaborate ruse?"

"Ruse?"

"A Trick, Rachel, an elaborate trick is being performed, an otherworldly sleight of hand being performed by something beyond our comprehension.

"I don't get it?" Rachel said.

"Our dear friend Mr. Evans has pulled off one hell of a mind game. Did you know some kishens, to cause severe madness in their victims, alter reality to make their victims more susceptible?

"You mean, everything that has happened from Day one to now, has been a lie."

"Save for the death of Marie," Steve said "However, Soul killed Ox and Havar; pretty brutally too. You ever seen what one of those bolt guns they use on cattle do to a human skull?"

"Ox and Havar didn't have anything to do with the events, and they didn't commit suicide? You're saying Soul did all of this?" Rachel said.

"He was trying to fool with us Rachel, to throw us off his scent, so to speak."

"Why?" Rachel said.

"To make sure we didn't stop him from getting what he wants, the one thing that he most desires."

"Maka's soul." Rachel said breathlessly.

"Bingo." Steve said.

"What do we do?"

"We suit up and we go get Maka out of there." Steve said.

"What about Soul?"

"He's a lost cause. If we can't at least bring him out for containment, we'll have to kill him." Steve said. He got up and walked over to Rachel, she moved aside to give him access to the door. The clock on the wall said 12:30 A.M.

"Get some sleep," Steve said, "We'll go into the fallout first thing." He said and walked out the door. Rachel rubbed her eyes and walked out of the room. She felt like the walking dead.

_Inside the fallout_

Maka lay on the bed; the soft glow of candles illuminated the room. Soul stood at the foot of the bed, shadows danced over his lean frame and across the scar where Crona had slashed into him years ago. He climbed onto the bed and pressed he close to her, his warmth felt good to her after all that time in the hospital and it's chilly, sanitized air. Kissing her passionately he pressed his hand against hers, the passion swelling between them. Soul gently made his way into her, Maka making a little gasp before letting out a soft moan. They had done this act numerous times during the past thirty days but it held no less significance. The act was as powerful and as passionate as it had been the first time they had done it. By the time they both reached the limit, simultaneous as always, they had felt as if their love had been meant to be, as if the stars aligned for them. Lying in the soft light, Maka held Soul close to her, unknowing of the terror that was to befall her before the day had its end.

_Outside the fallout_

Steve lay in his bed, despite the late hour he couldn't bring himself to sleep. He kept thumbing through the pages of the report and thinking of his talk with Rachel. He could tell she was shocked to learn of how she had been fooled, how they all were fooled. A soft tap at the door of his room at Shibusen snapped him out of his self-imposed mental exile.

"Enter." Steve said. Kami stood at the doorway.

"Can't sleep?" She said and closed the door.

"No. You?" He said.

"I can't stop thinking about Maka. I keep thinking that she's already gone."

"If I know Soul, he's going to keep her around as long as possible before doing the deed." Steve said.

"How can you be so sure? Kami said.

"Soul has no use for her soul as of yet. He'll get hungry though, and her soul will be the one thing he will want to eat. Hopefully we get there in enough time before he does decide he wants a snack." Steve said.

"All this talk is making me nervous." Kami said. Steve placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be okay, we'll get him." He said. He moved closer to her. Kami held him feeling his strong body close to her. She gently kissed his neck, nuzzling it. Steve gasped softly. He kissed her hard and passionately on the mouth as they tumbled backwards onto the bed. Steve looked into her emerald eyes and felt his passion for her grow and the fire ignite in his loins.

"I love you." Kami said.

"I know. I have known for a long time." And kissed her again as she slid the straps from her nightgown down around her shoulders. Their love outshone the light in the small sleeping quarter, heat radiating from all parts of their bodies. Kami had never felt such passion with Spirit yet she knew Steve wasn't an experienced lover. Steve's arm reached out from the tangle of their bodies. Somewhere beyond the sounds of passion, the click of a lamp's switch was heard.

_TBC_


End file.
